Olympus Rising
by YoungestCullen8
Summary: Young Do thought everything would be the same after high school graduation. But that same day a long lost friend returns. He attends a meeting and finds out there is a new head of Zeus Hotel Group. His new boss has powerful friends behind the chair and it's going to make it hard for him to not only succeed in business but in love as well. R&R
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** I'm back with a new story! I've been working on originals for so I haven't really been doing much with fanfiction. But I recently re-watched The Heirs and had an idea from it. So I hope you enjoy it.

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Choi Young Do sat during his graduation ceremony and listened to Yoon Chan Young give the valedictorian speech. His life had been tumultuous to say the least. His father had been a jerk who had gone to jail. His mother had left him when he had been in middle school. He had almost gotten a new mother but that had fallen through with his father's many affairs. And all of this had happened in high school.

But the two most important things that he considered insanely hard had been when his ex-best friend had returned to Korea and when his first crush had chosen his ex-best friend over him. He had let her go because he hadn't wanted to make her unhappy. But in the end it had made him unhappy.

He had gone on to senior year. He and his friend Jo Myeong Su had gone into senior year with nothing but money and a smile. Even when he thought his father's hotel was going to go under, he hadn't been too concerned because he'd had enough money put back for him for the rest of his life.

But he was missing something. He had friends, even those whose relationships he was rebuilding. After Cha Eun Sang had chosen Kim Tan, he hadn't had a crush. No other girl had ever caught his attention. It was probably due to the fact that he had been raised with most of the kids that went to his school. He already knew how petty they could be and he was already getting over the pettiness. Life had taught him that.

His classmates applauded Chan Young as he sat down. The diplomas were handed out and everyone was dismissed. Families congratulated their kids on graduating. Even Cha Eun Sang's mother was there. Kim Tan's brother and birth mother were there. That had been an interesting fight that had ensued after his father's illness had forced his wife to attack the boys.

He watched everyone leave happily to celebrate with their parents and siblings. He looked down at his shoes and wondered what would happen if he just walked past them. No one seemed to care that he was all alone. Even Myung Su was quiet as he walked with his family towards the doors.

Eun Sang was in front of him at that moment. He could see her mother and Tan standing amongst all her friends. They weren't happy but knew she couldn't stand to see someone in pain.

"Why don't you come with us to celebrate graduation? We don't have much time until we start classes again," she said.

He looked over her shoulder again at the people gathered around her mother. It was obvious they didn't want him around. But Eun Sang was very persuasive when she wanted something. He was going to end up going to eat with them even though they didn't want him to and he thought it was a dumb idea. It could easily lead to a fight.

"I think I'll pass," he answered.

She frowned at him, and it made him remember why he liked her as much as he had. "It's not fun to eat alone after graduating. Come with us."

"He said he didn't want to come," Lee Bo Na said. She scowled when he looked at him. "Don't force him."

Even though he shouldn't be affected by those words, they cut him a little bit. He was used to hearing their snide comments but since everything had happened, he wasn't sure he could handle it. He started to walk away but a voice behind him caught his attention.

"The Young Do I know would never back down from a gathering, especially when food was involved."

Tan's eyes widened and he could see the look of shock on Won's face. Even Rachel was perturbed by the person behind him. He couldn't turn around though. There was no way that voice belonged to the person he thought it did. That person had left years ago, leaving him with a father who was abusive to both his wife and son. Look how that had turned out.

"Noona!" Tan exclaimed, confirming his worst fears.

Won moved at the same time his brother did. "When did you return?"

"Obviously I came for your graduation, Tan. Why else would I be here?" she said. "Young Do, look at me."

Slowly Young Do turned around and came face to face with the woman who had left nearly ten years ago. Shin Jimin, or Ji Noona as they had all called her, had been the daughter of one of the maids that had worked in Zeus Hotel. She had gone to school with Won since she was a couple of years younger than him. She had been around when Tan had been brought into Jeguk Group and when Young Do's mother had left.

He remembered her very vividly. She had been kind and good with a gentle smile but a wicked right hook. Other than his father, Jimin had been the only person to toss him on the matt while training in judo. She had been nationally ranked in co-ed competitions by the time she was seventeen, taking home gold on more than eight occasions. She had followed it up by taking home the national gymnastics gold twice.

His father had made a move on her mother, and the family had moved. Jimin's father was a police officer so he had asked for reassignment so he could raise his family away from the harsh realities of Seoul. Young Do had refused to let go of her when she had come to tell him she was moving. He had been eight when she had left right before her third year of high school and he hadn't wanted to let her go. She had always been on his side no matter what he did.

He had gone to her high school graduation in Daegu. She had picked him up and carried him to her favorite tteokbokki stand where she had treated him to lunch. His mother had been concerned that he wouldn't leave, but she had given him a firm warning that if he didn't go, she was going to beat him when he got older. He had found that funny as he cried while the car drove away.

He had never thought he was going to see her again, but here she was standing before him. Her hair was the same shade of black he remembered except now she had streaked green and pink through it. She was just as tall as he remembered, even taller with the heels she was wearing. He could see the muscle definition under the fitting shirt she wore.

Tan's smile was wide. He remembered Jimin well. Who couldn't? She held everyone's attention when she walked into a room. It was hard not to notice her even though she was a commoner by birth. Even Won looked happy to see her.

"I thought you said you were never coming back," Won said.

"I said I was never going back to school at Jeguk. I never said I wasn't coming back to Seoul," she answered. She smiled at him. "How have you been, Oppa?"

"I've been well. But I know there's a better reason for you to be here than a simple graduation."

The smile fell from her face. "You're right about that. I'm not just here for graduation. Young Do, you need to come with me."

Young Do didn't want to go, but he knew that tone. Even after ten years, he still knew the tone that brooked no argument. She walked past him and out the double doors. Naturally he followed her. He couldn't say no to her. Never had been able to. She had always had that effect on all of them that knew her. He turned around to see if everyone was following and sure enough they were. They were curious as to what she would bring him.

As soon as he stepped out the double doors, he had to stop. Another person he hadn't seen in years was standing on the sidewalk. She didn't look scared as she had the day Kim Tan had told him to come. In fact she looked at peace. She looked so much better than when she had seen her at the coffee shop a few months ago.

"I know you've already reconnected, but she said she wasn't coming graduation because she was afraid she would be looked down upon. I told her that she wasn't the only one going to get a cold response. So with that here she is. Happy graduation, Choi Young Do."

Young Do couldn't help the happiness that overwhelmed him with his mother standing right in front of him. She had missed his high school entrance ceremony and all the bad things he had done, but she was here for one of the most important parts of his life. Jimin stepped aside as he came forward and wrapped his mother in a bone crushing hug.

"I'm sorry I was late," she whispered as she played with the hair at the base of his neck.

He shook his head. "It's all right. You're here now. Let's go eat with everyone."

Kyung Ran pulled away. "Are you sure you want to do that?"

Young Do took his mother's hand and held it tightly in his. Then he looked back at the others. "Are we going to eat or stand out here and freeze?"

Jimin shook her head. "You go on. I have something I need to take care of. Congratulations to all of you."

Won stepped up beside her. "I'll give you a ride."

Young Do watched the two walk away but all of his thoughts disappeared as everyone started throwing out what they wanted to eat. He heard Eun Sang ask Tan who the woman was. Tan answered by calling her the only woman he thought of as an older sister.

Tucked safely in the warmth of the car, Won looked at Jimin. She hadn't just returned to Seoul for Tan and Young Do's graduation. There was an underlying current about her; had always been one. She was always gentle but there was a hard edge to her that only people close to her knew. She was shrewd and very intelligent. He knew she had ranked number one in her class at university beating out even the rich kids that had attended.

"When are you going to tell him?" he asked. She looked over at him. "When are you going to tell Young Do you're essentially the chairman of his father's company?"

"Once he enters university he'll know. His father knew there was a possibility that he would go to jail so he contacted me, someone who had known the ins and outs of the company before Yoo Kyung Ran left. My mother worked there for fifteen years and I was there for Young Do's birth. I was also the one who threatened to turn him in if he laid a hand on my mom," she replied.

"So he gave you the position because you threatened him and he wanted to keep you quiet?"

She shook her head. "No. I graduated top of my class and was scouted by five of the top companies. I did the same thing you did. I rose through the ranks. Before he went to jail, Choi Dong Uk called me in for a meeting. He wanted the company to be in the hands of someone who will make a good name for it for the sake of his son."

"You're going to be the steward of Zeus Hotel Group until Young Do graduates college?"

"No. I'm going to be the steward until Young Do proves he can be in charge. I know his reputation. I know the horrible manners he has and what he does to those who make him made. I'm going to push him to the brink. We're on equal playing ground. He can't fire me. He has to follow the rules to get what he wants."

"What does that mean for Jeguk Group?"

"You'll continue doing what you have been. I'm going to need your help to build this empire back up from the rubble. I'm going to have severe opposition."

"They'll call for your credentials. Five years isn't going to amount to much to these people. They'll look at the money." She handed him a black folder with the Zeus Hotel emblem embossed in gold on the front. "What is this?"

"The amount of money I brought in for Mega Entertainment as their head of human resources and financing. I played double duty. The company was barely raking in fifty million won. Now it's nearly a four hundred billion won company. Ask Bo Na. I know she recognized me."

Won briefly glanced over the documents inside. "You could have worked for Jeguk. Why would you go to a place that threatened to sue you for libel and slander?"

"Change only happens when you usher it along. Dong Uk started it by not fighting his indictment which gave him a drop in charges. If you don't keep walking, you will never find the change that is best for your employees or yourself."

Won shook his head. The woman's perceptiveness never ceased to amaze him. She could be completely serious about the weirdest of things, but she had a keen eye for business. He could see why Choi Dong Uk had wanted her in his seat until either he got out of jail or Young Do graduated school.

"You know there is a huge possibility that Young Do will hate you for taking over from his father."

Jimin shrugged. "He can hate me all he wants, but he's not getting the company unless his father gets out of jail or I say so. Let's face it. Dong Uk will be lucky if he can be released in eight years instead of serving the full ten."

The car pulled up to the curb of Zeus Hotel. Jimin opened the door. Before she stepped out she looked at Won. He saw the gentleness return to her eyes.

"Congratulations on your marriage, Oppa. I have to meet her though. She has to be the right person for you or I won't agree."

"Get out of here," he laughed. He watched her close the door then disappear into the hotel. "That woman is going to shake this place to its foundation."

"Sir?" the driver asked.

"Nothing. Head back to the office."


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** So after working on original stories, I have also been helping my mom rearrange her room. We pulled up carpet, exchanged furniture, and watched football. We really have no lives outside of work and the house so spending time with her even if it meant getting dirty was fun. She told me she asks me to do stuff because I don't fight with her. It's really weird sometimes.

Also! Give me some more story ideas. I will watch any drama you refer and see if a story comes to mind. I need to find some more shows to watch besides variety shows.

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Young Do walked on to campus with a light heart. His mother had moved into his house so he wouldn't be alone now that his dad was being held in a cell. His classes had been confirmed for the business route at his university. Now all he had to do was go to class and behave (his mother's words).

He watched all the upper classmen walk around like they owned the place. They were all too busy to notice any of the freshmen anyway, even the rich ones. Young Do found his way to the business building. Even after his father's arrest, he was still interested in the business. He wanted to take over the company. There wasn't much else he could do.

He had a few minutes before class started so he could kill a little bit of time. He wasn't exactly nervous. It just reminded him of high school except this time he could choose his schedule. He could take as many or as little classes as he wanted. Of course he took the required number of courses to survive being a full time student. He had taken an English, math, history, science and a couple of others just to get them out of the way. He had to take at least three foreign languages to be considered well-rounded for his company.

He looked up just in time to watch two people walk towards the business building. He recognized the first one. Jimin was hard to miss, especially now that she had color in that long hair of hers. Besides the watermelon colored stripes, she had an orange bandana tied around her hair that matched her outfit. She looked exactly the same.

But who was the guy walking with her. He had seen him before but couldn't place him. The hair looked familiar but he still couldn't place it. They were in deep conversation as they walked into the business building. Young Do walked as fast as he could without running. He hit the door really hard, hard enough that it was going to bruise when it stopped stinging.

Students were filing into a massive auditorium classroom. Young Do followed them and sat in the back. He saw Jimin sitting at a table at the front of the classroom. Her companion was sitting beside her, their heads pressed together as they kept quiet about whatever they were discussing.

"Welcome to Business Tactics 101. I have taken a huge step and asked a couple of colleagues of mine to come talk to you about how to start preparing a business-like mind. Shin Jimin is a former student of mine who has gone on to become one of the best financial planners I have ever met. She had become close friends with an heir to the biggest construction company. Please welcome my special guests Shin Jimin and Song Woo Bin."

The name wasn't lost on Young Do. Anyone who was anyone knew the name Song Woo Bin. He wasn't just an heir and major stockholder in his father's company. He was also the mastermind behind one of the most expensive buildings in seoul. His wife was a revered artist and they had four beautiful kids that were sometimes splayed out for the Korean world to see. They had a perfect life.

How in the world had Jimin met up with him? She had left and moved to Daegu. How had she had gotten into one of the best universities in korea and become high ranking was beyond him. The person he remembered was gentle and composed without a mean bone in her body. She wasn't someone who was nasty enough to make decisions for a big company.

But her experience in the last few years said otherwise. She had grown up being friends with Kim Won, and he was as prickly as they come. Everyone they knew was curious how that relationship had worked out. She never called anyone oppa unless she was completely comfortable with them. She had to know him for a very long time or trust him completely for it to come about.

How in the world had she met Song Woo Bin was beside him. He knew of F4, and anyone who didn't was lying. They were even more prestigious than Jeguk Group. Led by the illustrious Goo Jun Pyo, they were four men who literally ruled the Seoul hierarchy.

Song Woo Bin was the oldest of the group and the second to get married. He was not only heir to the largest construction company in Korea, but he was also the mastermind behind one of the most cost efficient galleries in the country. His wife was a doctor turned world class artist and they had four beautiful children. Their family was known as the sturdiest one in their little group. How in the world had Jimin met him?

She started speaking and he was drawn in immediately. There was a reason everyone wanted Jimin in their company. She was quick witted and shrewd. She had an excellent eye for details that no one else saw. He couldn't count how many times she had fixed his footwork on the judo mat.

As she spoke, there wasn't a breath in the room. That was the magic behind her. Everyone was entranced by the way she spoke. It was very direct and calm, like she was in complete control of everything. There was something in her eyes that told them all she wasn't playing around.

When she sat down, Woo Bin took her spot. He was just as eloquent as she was, turning to her every now and then to reiterate a point she had made earlier. He had the same tone she did while talking; commanding and straight to the point. There was no reason to sugar coat anything that was going to happen to them in the future. They needed to know. They weren't going to hold anything back from them even though they were only freshmen.

When they wrapped up their lecture, their normal professor ended class and told them if they had any questions to come up now. Jimin was very proactive with the young men and women who came to talk to her. She looked them in the eye and answered directly but nicely.

Young Do stood and waited as patiently by the door as he could. He wanted to speak to her but didn't want to interrupt her in the moment. It was still so real to see her standing before him when he hadn't seen her in years.

At that moment she looked up and made eye contact with him. The gentle smile he knew was finally directed at him. Luckily everyone finished their questions and filtered out slowly. Woo Bin and Jimin packed up and said their goodbyes to the professor before slowly coming up the ramp.

"I didn't know you were in this class," Jimin said as they stopped beside him.

"Mr. Yoon thought it would be a good idea for me to take some introductory class early on. He thinks it'll make me want to do business," he replied.

"Maybe it's a good idea. You are heir to Zeus Hotel Company after all," Woo Bin said.

He remembered his manners and that Woo Bin was older than him. "Hello. I'm Choi Young Do."

Woo Bin smiled. "Song Woo Bin. Jimin has told me so much about you. I was slightly surprised to find out that you had grown up together. She is too kind to come out of our world, but she adapted really well."

He looked at his watch. "I'm meeting my wife for lunch. Jimin is coming along. Would you like to?"

Young Do looked at Jimin. She wasn't telling him he couldn't go, but she wasn't asking him to go either. She sighed at him and led the way out of the classroom. He couldn't help but follow. Woo Bin's car was waiting for them at the gate of the school. They climbed in and sighed, thankful for the heat that beat out the cold.

It was quiet as they rode to the restaurant Woo Bin was meeting his wife. Young Do had never seen the woman. She rarely had pictures taken because she was camera shy. No one knew why, but Woo Bin had honored her wishes and had kept her out of the limelight even when her artwork was selling like crazy.

"So…" he started just to break the silence, "how did you meet?"

"Oppa is the same age as Won Oppa with Won being a few months older. We met in college. We were in the same study group in one of our classes and just naturally grew closer," Jimin answered. "His wife was hard to get along with at first, but that's simply because she didn't know me and I didn't know sign language."

"Sign language?" Young Do wrinkled his nose.

"My wife is hearing impaired. She uses sign language to communicate when she's not wearing her hearing aids," Woo Bin explained.

Young Do didn't get any more information because the car pulled up to a very expensive bistro. Woo Bin slid out first then held his hand out for Jimin. She took it and slid out. They released each other immediately and waited for him to get out of the car. Young Do looked at the restaurant even he had a hard time getting into. Jimin had traded up since leaving.

Woo Bin lead them to the far front side to a man and woman with four kids sitting the very last booth. Two kids played between them in the seats as two more sat on their laps. Young Do realized the man was So Yi Jeong, son and heir to the So Art Gallery and So Art School. Jimin really was friends with all of F4.

But the astonishing thing was the woman sitting on the inside of the booth. She wasn't completely Korean but had enough in her to make her features extremely exotic. Young Do realized if he hadn't been recovering from Cha Eun Sang, he would have talked to the woman. Her eyes were an odd golden color that had to be completely natural. Her hair had multiple colors in it and he wasn't all too certain that all of it was hair dye.

"Sorry we're late," Woo Bin said as he dropped a kiss to her forehead. He then scooped up the toddler closest to him. "Rin Ah," he cooed shaking her gently until she laughed at being held over his head.

"What took you so long?" Yi Jeong asked.

"The students wanted to talk. We didn't have much of a choice but to answer their questions. It was the reason we were there after all," Jimin replied. She motioned for Young Do to sit down. "This is a friend of mine. Choi Young Do of Zeus Hotel Company."

The woman across from Young Do looked at him. "I'm sorry to hear about your father. I hope you're doing well."

He was slightly shocked that a complete stranger would ask about him, but what shocked him most was how dull her voice sounded. It was muted as if she couldn't breathe as she spoke. He couldn't help but look around.

"She can't hear her own voice so she doesn't know how to differentiate the inflections in her voice. It's why it sounds so muted," Yi Jeong answered without any prompting. Young Do stared at him. "We're used to everyone asking about Eri that it's just second nature. It takes some time to get used to it."

Woo Bin sat down and slung his arm across the back of the booth. Another one of his kids crawled over everyone to sit in his lap. "So tell us something about Jimin that we don't already know. Like what are her hobbies besides judo?"

Young Do looked at Jimin and wondered what she hadn't told them. She was usually an open book, much like she was right now. If she didn't want him to say anything, she would have closed off her expression already. As it was she was staring at him and wondering what he was going to reveal.

"She can play the piano. And I don't mean peck at it either. She can play. I've never heard a more sorrowful version of "Ode to Joy" than the one she played," he said. She wrinkled her nose at him then licked her lips. It was her tell that he had just told something embarrassing. "She has a habit of frying everything. Kim Won brought home some sweets from overseas and she fried it before eating it. I wanted to gag."

"You shouldn't have been in the kitchen when I was making it," she argued.

He poked her in the ribs. "If you keep eating that crap, you're going to get fat."

"That's only if I stop judo. And I have no plans to stop judo. My life would be boring if I did that."

"And it's not now?" She made a face and shook her head. "What have you been doing anyways?"

Young Do missed the nervous looks the F4 members tossed at each other, but Jimin kept her expression. "I was transferred to a new company. I'm getting paid nearly three times more than what I was at my last company. I'm almost able to pay off my student loans and buy my mom a new house. Since my dad died, she had to put our house in Daegu up to pay for the funeral costs and outstanding debt."

He frowned at the thought. "I didn't know your dad died."

She nodded as she stirred the coffee that was set before her. "Yeah, he died about a year ago. From a heart attack. It's been hard on mom, but she refuses to move back to Seoul. She says she's happy so I don't bother her too much."

"You seem very close to your mom," Yi Jeong said. Young Do turned his head to look at him. "She never talks about her family. She just says it's not important and goes on her way."

"I wasn't as well off as the rest of you. My mother was a hotel maid and my father was an accountant. I ran around like a normal kid. I could have attended Shinhwa High School or Jeguk. I chose Jeguk. My closest friend was heir to Jeguk Group and I fought with the heir to Zeus Hotel. It was a normal high school experience."

"How did you survive in Jeguk? We heard it's worse than Shinhwa," Woo Bin asked.

She shrugged. "It was a high school. I went and kept my nose out of anything that had nothing to do with me. It helped that Oppa was always there to make sure no one was two stupid. Though I'm two years younger than him age wise, school wise I'm only a year younger so we were able to do more things together."

Young Do was surprised that she hadn't talked about him or Kim tan as much as he thought she would have. She had only been around him since he had been born. He remembered that she used to babysit him when his parents had gone out. It was why he had felt so betrayed when she had left when he was nine.

Jimin looked at her watch then let out a slight curse. "I have a meeting I need to be in, in fifteen minutes. I have to go. Eri, it was wonderful seeing you again. We have to get together for dinner some time."

"Wait for me. I've got to head to the hotel to wash dishes," Young Do said.

He got up and followed her out the door after saying goodbye to the other three. This time he didn't miss the worried looks on the older three's faces. Something was going on and they all knew what it was.

"I've got to go here. I'll talk to you later, Young Do." Jimin hailed a taxi and within two seconds was gone.

Young Do watched the departing car and wondered what was going to happen, and would he come out of it in one piece when he was already barely hanging on by a thread?


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: So the last couple of days have been kind of stressful. First my car decided to quit with me in it! I was under an overpass and it freaked me out since I don't like bridges. Luckily I didn't have a ticket waiting on me when I went back and got it. I was so frustrated that I danced the anger out with Bangtan Boys, Super Junior, Seventeen and many other artists. It's a great workout too.

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"I see you're actually doing some work."

Jimin looked up from the budget spread out before her. She'd been out of the office for the last few days attending meetings with Woo Bin and his father. She was still amazed at the backing she got from the largest construction company in asia. Woo Bin had been her biggest supporter in college. He was the reason she had gotten the best job possible when she had graduated. Now he was helping her again.

Kim Won stood before the desk. He wasn't there as a friend. He was there as Kim Win, CEO of Jeguk Group. His mouth was set in a thin line that made him look older than his thirty-two years. His hands were shoved in his pockets. If he was in a good mood they'd be hanging at his sides.

"I would ask how you got past my secretary, but I have a good idea. Sit down and I'll order coffee," she said as she stood.

Won had a bad habit of pressing his lips together when he wanted to explode. He was doing that right now. Something had happened for him to bypass protocol and come straight to her. He'd always been bold in that aspect.

Jimin took the folder with her and sat across from him. Asking him what was wrong would only end in an explosion. It was better to let him come out with it naturally. So she continued reading over the budget and making adjustments before Woo Bin and Eri arrived to go to brunch.

Since Woo Bin's legitimacy had been called into question a couple of years ago, Eri had stepped up to take his position. In those few weeks, she had learned quite a bit about business. Woo Bin asked her to go over his notes and books quite regularly.

The coffee arrived and Jimin waved her secretary away. Won looked down at the blueberry muffin that accompanied his Americano and laughed. He looked up at Jimin to see her writing in the folder. She knew how to butter him up.

"I should never have told you what I like with my coffee," he muttered as he reached for the amazing smelling bread.

"Maybe next time you won't show up looking like someone shot your cat," she replied. She never looked up from her work. "Who ticked you off?"

"You did." He waited for her to look nervous but it never crossed her face. "Why did you fire my liaison I sent over? We're supposed to work together on this, not make each other mad."

Finally Jimin looked up at him. "Did it not cross your mind that your employee quit because I refused to let him take shortcuts on the new hotel in China? He wanted to use materials that were clearly and scientifically proven to be weaker than what we'd been using. Yes, they are cheaper but they're not structurally sound. I wasn't going to take the chance in a lawsuit. This company has enough of those."

She flipped her folder around and handed it to him. "If you don't believe me, look at this. He documented everything, including structural integrity."

Won sighed as he read the meticulously planned proposal. He he'd never seen such blatant disregard for research. Just because it was cheapest didn't mean it was the best route. He couldn't believe his man had tried to get away with it. Now he understood why he hadn't been able to contact her. She had been trying to put out the fires that had been started by this one mistake.

"Should I fire him?" he asked.

"That's up to you. He's been with the company twenty years. He may try to take people with him," she answered as she took the folder from him and closed it.

"Let him try. With all this information no one would hire him." He took a few moments to drink his coffee. "What are you doing tonight?"

"Having dinner with Kyung Ran and Young Do. Why?"

"I wanted you to meet my wife." He frowned when she laughed. "What?"

"Nothing. The thought of you married is entertaining."

"You make me hate you sometimes." He turned when there was a knock at the door. "Are you expecting someone?"

"I have a brunch meeting," she checked her watch, "right now. I'm sure they wouldn't mind if you tagged along."

Won wasn't too sure as Jimin opened the door. He was shocked at the couple that walked through the door. He had only met them once before. Why were they coming here?

"Are we late?" the man asked, checking his watch.

Jimin shook her head. "Nope. I was just talking to Won Oppa. Oppa," she turned back to Won, "this is Song Woo Bin and his wife Eri. Woo Bin-ah, this is Won Oppa."

Woo Bin pouted a little. "Why did you only call him Oppa?"

"I've known him longer. Plus you said we should drop formalities." Jimin looked at the woman as she signed then laughed. "Youre right. He does whine too much."

The younger man ignored them then looked down at Won. "Would you like to join us? We're just going to talk about the same boring business and politics."

Won looked to Jimin for confirmation. She had already asked him if he would like to join them, but he hadn't thought her serious. Now he had an invitation from the strongest power couple in Korea.

The other woman started to sign again. "We have to pick our kids up after lunch so we need to get going," Woo Bin said.

"Oppa, if you're not going, you should leave," Jimin said as she grabbed her coat.

"I'm available until one."

That was all they needed to hear as they left the office. Jimin and Won followed the married couple. It was obvious in the way they walked that they were completely in love. Woo Bin rarely left her side when they were together. Eri was rarely in the public so seeing how Woo Bin treated her was amazing. And it got Won to thinking.

"Why haven't you gotten married, Jimin?" he asked as they turned left on the sidewalk outside.

"I haven't found anyone worth marrying. Some are too intimidated," she answered. "I'm a very intelligent, hardworking and high ranking woman. It seems every guy I go out with only wants to get married and have kids. I'm not at that stage just yet."

"You should have married me when you had the chance."

She laughed at him, smile widening her face even in the cold. "Then I would have had to listen to you complain about your father and your brother. I actually like Tan so I don't want to listen to that."

"Tan likes you. I never understood why."

"You don't have to. I like you and that's all that matters. Even if you did pick on me in high school."

"You never understood that I actually liked you."

She didn't believe him. He could tell by the look on her face. He laughed as she ran ahead with her hands in her pockets. She looked like a penguin with her black coat and white scarf. He couldn't help the laughter that bubbled up. This was the Jimin he knew. She was always goofing off with a huge smile on her face regardless of the situation.

"Does she always act like that?" Woo Bin asked. He was smiling like an idiot as he watched the younger woman.

"She has since I've known her. And that's been around twenty-five years. She's always loved to have fun. But how did you meet her?" It had been bothering Won since the couple had walked through the door.

"I met Jimin during our freshman year at Shinhwa University. I wanted to know how such a common person made the grades to get into the school. She proved it by beating me at being first in our class. That started an interesting friendship that I still haven't quite figured out. She acted like this on a class trip too. I was really concerned that she was losing her mind."

"She can't lose what she didn't have."

They followed the goofy woman a little farther down the sidewalk before turning into a restaurant. Jimin was already talking to the hostess as they caught up to her. The two women smiled at each other before Jimin followed the other woman.

"Hyung!" Won turned around as he heard his brother's voice. Tan came over from another table. He saw that he was with Chan Young, Bo Na and Eun Sang. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm having a brunch meeting. What about you?" he asked.

"We're eating before class. Why is Noona here?"

"I asked her to join me because I wasn't comfortable meeting a man and his wife alone. I'll talk to you at home tonight. I've got to go." He left his brother and slid into a chair beside Jimin a few tables away. "Tan wants to know why you're here. I didn't tell him youre in charge of Zeus, but it won't be too much longer until they find out."

Jimin smiled. "Thanks. This won't take too long. We just need to discuss who's going to be in charge of the supplies. Woo Bin-ah has been helping me reshape the budget for the overseas venture as well as fix the one your guy messed up."

Woo Bin narrowed his eyes on Won. "Your guy is the one who messed up that budget? It took me two days to research everything. You should be happy we figured it out before we started building, and that Jimin is your friend. She wanted to talk to you about it before I came after you. Someone could have seriously been hurt if I had authorized those materials to be used."

Won waved his hand to dismiss the argument. It was going to take them all day if they discussed everything again.

(*(*(*(*(*(*(*(*

Young Do walked around the strip after class. He'd had all morning classes and had decided that he was going to start his free afternoon with some food. He didn't know where he wanted to go though, and that was a problem his stomach was fighting with him about.

There was a little restaurant that didn't get much fanfare because it wasn't one of the ritziest ones out there. He headed in that direction and got to the window. Glancing in, he saw Kim Won with Song Woo Bin and a woman. At a closer look, he saw Jimin sitting beside him. He wasn't sure why they were together but it looked like they were in a deep discussion.

He waited long enough for Jimin to see him. She smiled and he felt his heart pick up a little. It hadn't done that since Cha eun Sang, and he had been certain it would never again. Especially not with someone he had known all his life.

He watched her say something before pushing her chair out and slipping behind Won. The older men looked up at him, one with a smile and the other with a grim expression. Won would never change.

Jimin stepped out into the cold putting on her coat. She walked straight up to him and grabbed him by the hand. He had no idea where they were going but knew he'd better go where she told him. She had a nasty temper when she was aggravated. Even though it didn't look like she had been mad while eating with Won, it could all change in a heartbeat.

She led him to a supermarket and gave him the task of pushing the cart around the store. She didn't say anything to him as she walked up and down the aisles searching for the items they would need for dinner that night. He had forgotten how many times he had gone with her when she had stayed with him while his parents went out. They had wandered the supermarket then too.

"Do you still like Japanese stir fry Korean style?" she asked.

He laughed slightly as she remembered something even he had forgotten about. She had made him stir fry that he had had in Japan when he had been six, but instead of using Japanese ingredients, she had used a mixture of that and Korean dishes. It had been his favorite meal that he'd asked for it every time his parents went out.

"I haven't had it in a while," he answered.

"Good. We can actually make it for your mother. We need the soy sauce and sesame oil. Do you know where that is?"

"I'm sure I can find it."

He wandered off with mixed emotions. He hadn't seen her in a while and she was coming over to his house to have dinner with his mother. He wasn't quite sure if he was okay with that but his mother had asked Jimin over. It had been Jimin's idea to make dinner since his mother was working late. He had never cooked a full dinner before so he was kind of nervous.

Jimin popped up out of nowhere as he was deciding which brand of soy sauce to buy. She dumped some meat and veggies in the basket then took off again. He had forgotten how fast she was when she was working on something. Watching her dart off reminded him that he was supposed to be watching her since he hadn't seen her in some time.

She returned once again but remained after dumping her armload. She ventured ahead of him and went around the corner. He followed her casually, wondering what she could be looking at. He found her in the sweets aisle looking over the different chocolates.

"I thought we could make chocolate fondue for dessert. I already have a fondue fountain. Woo Bin Oppa bought it for me after I graduated from college. I've used it three or four times," she said as she pulled four packs of white chocolate off the rack.

"Mom can't eat citrus fruits," he said as he surveyed the food in the cart.

"Those are for me. I was going to use them when I went home. I got strawberries, bananas, pretzels, and a couple of other things that go well with chocolate." She wrinkled her nose at him. "Who eats oranges with white chocolate?"

Laughing outright at the absurdity of his remark, he followed her to the checkout. When they had paid for everything, they stepped into the cold afternoon air and hailed a cab. With Jimin sitting beside him there was no way he could avoid her.

"What have you been up to these last few years?" he asked.

"School and work mainly. I got a really good job with an associate of Song Construction after an internship and I've been going ever since," she replied.

It was a really vague answer but then again she was really vague at times. He figured it'd be best to wait until he was with his mother to ask any more questions. She wouldn't decline them then because an older adult was asking her.


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: So as I sit here writing this, I'm realizing that I have no life. It revolves around going to work and going home and taking care of puppies. Tonight there is a Joan Jett concert that I'm hoping to go to, but if this migraine or the rain doesn't go away first I may not go. I'll just content myself with listening to Bangtan, Speed, BIGBANG, and any other artists I find to pass the time.

(*(*(*(*(*(*(*(*(*

Jimin was sitting against the floor length window when Kyung Ran returned home. She looked haggard from working in her café all day. There was a bandage on her hand from where she had obviously burned it on the hot plate used to keep the coffee pots warm. Jimin had plenty of them from her college days as a waitress at a coffee shop.

Young Do's face was so happy when he came from the bathroom. She had heard that Kyung Ran had left the family in his second year of middle school and hadn't contacted him until his second year of high school. She couldn't imagine what he had gone through. He had missed his last meal with her until he had found her again. By that time, his father had done enough damage.

Choi Dong Uk was a very hard man. When Jimin had visited him in prison, he had been very course with her. But when she had threatened to leave without hearing him out, he had become like a child and had asked her to stay. He hadn't said he was sorry for being a butthead but he had lowered his tone.

He had explained everything to her and had asked for her to stand in his place until he either was released or Young Do graduated college. The likelihood of him being released early was low because he had admitted to being in the wrong, so Young Do would graduate before he came back.

Jimin had explained that she was completely different than she had been when he had known her. She had been brutally honest by saying that she wasn't going to just give the company over to Young Do until he proved himself academically. Dong Uk had seemed completely okay with that, but he had told her Young Do had been washing dishes in the kitchen since he was fifteen and he would continue until he graduated college.

With that knowledge, she had known it would only be a matter of time before someone told him that she was in charge of Zeus Hotel Company. Young Do had an impressive temper, and he did one of two things when he lost it. He either completely ignored the person until they wanted to die, or he lashed out. Luckily he had never lashed out at her, but she had never kept this big of a secret from him either. She didn't know what he would do when he found out, but he would be hurt.

She watched him interact with his mother. He was so happy as they chopped vegetables together. They had done that on nights Dong Uk had been late due to meetings or dinner engagements. Jimin had been invited to plenty of them and had seen on a firsthand account how attached Young Do was to his mother. Losing her had cost him some precious time with her.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out to see two messages: one from Won and the other from Woo Bin. Won's was succinct.

 _/We need to meet to discuss the person who is going to be in charge on my end. I heard you had Lee Moon Bae in charge on your end. Call me soon./_

She scratched her head at his brusque tone. He hadn't forgiven her for not discussing dismissing his guy even though his guy had been in the wrong. Opening Woo Bin's message, she choked back at a laugh at the picture of him wearing makeup. His daughters had gotten hold of him.

 _/Do you think everyone at the meeting tomorrow will consider this appropriate, or should I go full clown makeup and shock everyone?/_

The men were complete opposites. Won was uptight about work, and Woo Bin was playful even when he should be serious but he was good at his job. He could make anyone laugh even in the direst of circumstances.

She answered both of them. To Won she said, _/You pick a person and I'll decide if he or she is good. Moon Bae is eccentric, but she's good. She'll need someone who is more laid-back./_

To Woo Bin, she said _, /I'm pretty sure being dressed up like a clown won't help the fact that you are a clown. You'll just be confirming your reputation. Did you talk to Yi Jeong Oppa about artwork to go in the rooms?/_

Two completely different men deserved two completely different responses, and that's how she tailored them. Won wouldn't appreciate sarcasm, and Woo Bin would just mock her serious tone.

Won didn't answer so she guessed he was taking her suggestion to heart. She had a feeling he was going to stay up all night finding the right person to work with Lee Moon Bae, who had come with Jimin to Zeus when she had transferred. That was going to be an interesting task considering Moon Bae was a visual art major and could find classicalism in everything. So pairing her with someone who could take that and run with it was always tough.

Woo Bin's reply was instantaneous. _/Eri is working in Yi Jeong on some special pieces for the suites, lobby, dining room and restaurant. Do you want different pieces for each room or does it matter? And don't call Yi Jeong Oppa. It makes me feel less important./_

Jimin couldn't help the scoff that left her as she read his message. Kyung Ran and Young Do looked up at her, but she waved them off to reply to his unfounded jealousy.

 _/You have really lost your mind. And I will call anyone Oppa if I deem it necessary. I like Yi Jeong Oppa and I will call him Oppa if I wish. You can't control me!/_

It was their normal bickering that always made people laugh. They were so strange when they were together that everyone thought they were dating. It was only when they saw Woo Bin's left hand that they understood that he was a happily married man. People would call him whipped, but Woo Bin knew how to make his wife happy with the little things.

He sent back an emoji then went silent. He was going to make everything to her specifications. He was so talented when he made models, and that was what had caused her to choose him for the bid. Everyone was going to love the uniqueness of his hotel, and the artwork would have the high and mighty beginning for a piece. So it worked for everyone's benefit.

Young Do looked up when Jimin made an incredulous noise. She was looking down at her phone, her mouth drawn into a line and her brow furrowed. Either someone had ticked her off or she was concentrating a little too hard. He hadn't ever seen her that focused on anything other than school before. Whatever her job was this time around, she was dedicated to it one hundred percent.

His heart picked up as he remembered she had borrowed his clothes while hers were washing in the laundry downstairs. They had been walking home from and a little kid had run into her, splashing his drink all down the front of her coat. The mother had been frantic because she recognized a designer brand, but Jimin had waved her off with a smile. She hadn't cared that her coat had been ruined. All that matter was the kid was safe. After giving him some chocolate from their bags, she had sent him on his way.

When they had gotten to his penthouse by using the private elevator, he had gone to fish out some clothes that would probably fit her. When she had changed, he had sent her clothes to the laundry room to be cleaned and dried. They probably wouldn't be ready by the time she left that evening, but at least they weren't ruined. The coat was unsalvageable, but she didn't seem to mind.

Even though the clothes he had found were small for him, Jimin wasn't a huge woman. The shirt hung off her shoulders and the track pants had had to be tightened so much that the material bunched together at the back. She had laughed him when he had commented that she should probably put on some more weight, and had replied that if she did, it would be all muscle. She still trained in judo every morning before work. He had wondered if she could still lay him out like she had when he was eight.

She stood and rustled the curtains. Young Do was 6'2, so the shirt he had given her was way too long on her 5'8 frame. It hung mid-thigh and the sleeves came well past her wrists. She had them rolled up a couple times so they would stay put. There was nothing that could be done for the track pants so they swept the floor when she walked.

"Is everything going okay over here?" she asked as she rounded the edge of the counter. "I can smell soy sauce across the room."

Kyung Ran smiled. "How in the world did you come up with this?"

"I was bored, and my parents were gone. I come up with random food when I'm bored. Sometimes they don't turn out so well but this time it did. I used to make it for Young Do when he was a kid and I would babysit him." She glanced at him with a slight smile.

"You two were close when you were younger. How old are you now, Jimin-ah?" Kyung Ran asked.

"I'm thirty-one."

"Why aren't you married?"

Jimin shuffled a bit, scuffing her bare foot against the floor. Young Do realized that it was a normal question she heard. In honesty he wanted to know why she wasn't married. She was like an actress or super model, so why hadn't any guys asked her out.

"When everyone finds out that I'm connected to Jeguk Group and Song Construction, they tend to walk away. Two of the biggest corporations in South Korea are friends and that's intimidating. Plus I work eighty hours a week. That's half the hours in a week. I don't really have time for anyone," she answered.

Kyung Ran frowned a little bit. "That's not a good enough reason for men to walk away from you."

Jimin shrugged, a slight movement of her shoulders. "It doesn't matter to me. I've seen enough heartache in the world to not completely believe in it."

"Old flame?"

"No, my dad died last year. It's been hard on my mom because they were married for thirty-five years. He was the major income in our family. She refuses to believe that he was sick and blames it on the doctors. She's vowed to never love again, which is fine for her I guess."

"It's been hard on you to watch her like that."

Jimin nodded as she bit into a raw piece of pepper. "A little. I was close to my dad, but he had debts because he paid most of my tuition to Shinhwa University. Even after all my scholarships, it was still expensive. I started paying back most of it, but there are still some that need to be paid. When he died, it was all transferred over to my mom. Even with her job, she barely makes enough to pay the debts and all the utilities. Luckily I found a good job that gives me the ability to take care of her."

"So the eighty hours a week to take care of your mom. Most people work eighty hours a week to make money."

The younger woman laughed. "My mom would kill me. She says money is the root of all evil. I've seen what money makes people think they can do."

Young Do had a new insight into another reason why Jimin had walked away from his family right before his mother had. His dad hadn't exactly been obsessed with money, but he had flaunted it any chance he had. That he had passed on to his son. Young Do had tried to buy his way out of anything. In the end it hadn't worked.

He didn't blame Jimin's mother from taking her away from Seoul and the Zeus Hotel Company. If she didn't want her anywhere near money who thought they can do whatever, being in Seoul wasn't a good idea. But in the end, she had returned to make money and take care of her family.

Dinner was ready in the next few minutes and they sat down. Of course Young Do sat beside Jimin without a second thought. Kyung Ran didn't say anything. She had known that Young Do hadn't seen Jimin in years so there was no reason to wonder why he was suddenly attached at the hip to her. But she did have to wonder whether her son knew that his old friend beside him was in charge of the company that had driven her away and had sent his father to jail.

The fondue was a big hit, and Kyung Ran asked for the recipe. Jimin was very obliging in handing it over. Anyone could find a fondue recipe. She had just learned it from the years working at a fancy café.

Young Do went to study and Jimin got ready to go home. Her clothes still weren't ready but she was fine with wearing Young Do's clothes home and returning them later. Kyung Ran gave her a spare coat but didn't ask for it back. Jimin would end up giving it back anyway.

Kyung Ran followed her out into the hallway. She waited to talk to her once they were at the elevator.

"Jimin-ah, when are you going to tell Young Do that you are in charge of Dong Uk's company? He has the right to know since it is his inheritance," she said.

"He'll know shortly. There is a board meeting next week. All the shareholders and board members are to be in attendance. Since Young Do holds the majority of the shares, he has to be there. I'll be introducing myself formerly and telling how I plan to make this Chinese expansion as profitable as possible." Jimin held the elevator door open. "Dong Uk told you didn't he?"

She nodded. "He thought I would want to know. Why are you hiding it?"

"Because the whole company is in turmoil. I fired thirty people and turned two over for embezzlement. I've made cutbacks on the two biggest spenders in the company and have had my notions known. I won't back down and I won't deal with liars, cheats, and swindlers. I plan to set this company straight for Young Do. I even have four of the richest families in Korea at my backing. This company will be better for Young Do's kids than it was for us."

There was conviction in her voice. She was literally going to do whatever it took to make the largest hotel chain in Asia better than it was when they were kids. She had the means and the funds to do it, no matter where she had gotten them.

Kyung Ran smiled. "I hope you can do what Dong Uk never could. Teach Young Do to respect his underlings and learn to lead by following."

"I plan to, even if it means we beat each other senseless on the mat."

The elevator doors opened and Jimin stepped inside. Before they closed behind her, she bowed to the other woman. Kyung Ran watched the young woman disappear behind the door. She was certain her son was going to take this the wrong way because of the way his mind worked. He was going to feel that his friend had stabbed him in the back by taking his position.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: So this is going to be a fun weekend. We have a festival going on and three major artists are playing. Last night was Joan Jett, tonight was Night Ranger, and tomorrow night is Joe Nichols who is playing in my hometown. That is if it doesn't rain all weekend like they say it might. I love these concerts because people from everywhere show up. And it's great bonding time for me and my sister. We always end up hoarse afterwards, but that's what happens when you go to a concert.

(*(*(*(*(*(*(*(*

Young Do wasn't surprised to see new board members and shareholders sitting according to position or amount. He was sitting at the end of the U-shaped table with Esther Lee and the other shareholders. He was surprised however to see Jeong Ji Suk in attendance. She was a shareholder at Jeguk Group, whose CEO was sitting a few chairs down from his crazy stepmother. How Won had dealt with that he never understood.

Many of the board members who had been at the company since his grandfather's time were now gone. He had known when he had heard that Zeus Hotel Company was going through an upheaval that those men would be the first to go. Three had embezzled money from the company and the rest had been too confident in their posh offices to attempt anything. The fact they were gone spoke a testament to the new CEO. Whoever it was wasn't afraid to do away with the rubbish and start new.

The shareholders hadn't met the new CEO yet. Only the board had and that meant Young Do was out of the loop. He had been told to focus on his studies and not worry about the company. It was easier said than done because when his dad was in charge, he knew what was going on. Now with the new CEO, he had no clue. He knew they were expanding into the Chinese market but that was as far as his knowledge went.

Thinking about people naturally made his mind wander to Jimin. When she had left Seoul nearly four years ago, he had thought she had been mad at him. He'd even gone to Daegu to her graduation and had asked if it had been his fault. His eight year old mind couldn't wrap around that it wasn't his fault.

Jimin had left Seoul fourteen years ago but he hadn't seen her in ten. She had kept in touch with him until her sophomore year of college where she had almost dropped off the face of the earth. She didn't answer his letters or calls. He had thought she had really started to hate him. So he had stopped calling after six months of nothing.

The first time he had heard anything about her had been when the Incheon Airport had been having issues. They had been going through a reconstruction phase due to a scandal involving a Korean Air plan and fuel. The person who had been fired those guilty had been Jimin. Public opinion had been bad at first, but when the airport had started working flawlessly again people were happy and reconsidered.

After that, Jimin had disappeared once again. Things had been quiet. Only the company who had any sort of upheaval was Jeguk when Jeong Ji Suk had made one last desperate attempt at a takeover. Won and Tan had stood strong with Vice President Yoon Jae Ho and pushed her aside. Now she was going through a bitter divorce. That left her even nastier.

Young Do wondered when Jimin would be back over to get her clothes. They were sitting atop his dresser folded neatly. If he knew where she lived he would have taken them to her, but he didn't so he had to wait for the next get together to return them. He didn't even want his back, but if he continued to see hers, he wasn't sure what would happen.

Many of the men and women started grumbling. The new CEO was five minutes late. Normally that wouldn't be an issue, but it was Friday and everyone had backed up work to do. Young Do had a class at noon, but he didn't mind missing it.

The CEO of Jeguk looked nervous. Kim Won was normally very stoic. He didn't get his feathers ruffled easily, but today that wasn't the case. He looked as if he was sweating.

The door behind the CEO's seat opened and everyone gasped. Song Woo Bin, vice president and heir of Song Construction Company, and So Yi Jeong, artist and heir to So International Art Gallery, entered. Their families ranked second and third in the country based on wealth, right behind Shinhwa Group and directly above Jeguk Group. Their friend Yoon Ji Hoo was the grandson of the late former president and president of the gallery Seok Young, which was opened and named after his late grandfather. The four had gone to Shinhwa University together just like they had gone to school together all of their lives. All four of them were married with kids as well, all within a year or so of each other.

Everyone was in an uproar, but it suddenly went quiet with the arrival of the new CEO. Dressed in black slacks and a tight sea-green top, Jimin looked ready for business. Young Do's mouth fell open as he stared at the last person he ever expected to see come through that door. He expected someone else. Someone older.

She bowed respectfully, black, green and pink hair falling in her face. "Hello, my name is Shin Jimin, and I am the acting CEO of Zeus Hotel Company." She didn't say add please take care of me because she knew they wouldn't.

Young Do was floored. Jimin was running his father's company and hadn't told him. By the look on Kim Won's face, he had known for some time but had been sworn to secrecy. Now he just looked sick.

The two men made eye contact, and Young Do could see how hard it was on the older man to keep the secret. Jeguk and Zeus had entered before Young Do had graduated. Jeguk was helping finance the hotel company's expansion.

Jimin sat at the head of the table with Woo Bin and Yi Jeong on either side. Onec again she was in control. Young Do sat back to watch the battle of wits take place.

"Before anyone gets snotty, Woo Bin, Yi Jeong and I went to college together and majored in business. I interned at So International my sophomore year, and at Song Construction my senior year. When this company needed help, they came to me with an offer," she said. That explained everything right there.

She nodded at Kim Won. "Lee Jung So has been removed as head of this project. Hwang Jo Min has been appointed to help Lee Moon Bae. Their personalities are similar."

Woo Bin nodded as he looked over the information in front of him. "We've made the necessary arrangements to get the materials swapped."

One of the board members looked up from the information. "Doesn't this send our budget over by two percent?"

"Two point five percent to be exact," Jimin corrected as she leaned back.

"That's nearly two times the budget. Ever if we cut funds to some of our other projects, we still won't have enough."

"Jeguk has pitched in a third of the deficit," Won advised. "All we ask in return in one free week vacation a year."

Jimin looked around the table at the grumbling men and women. "Business used to be about bartering. One man would exchange a precious stone for a bag of rice to feed his family. It hurt his pride to give up something so valuable, but keeping his family alive was even more worthwhile. Think of this as barter. You're the men and women with the precious stone but no rice. Jeguk, Song, and So have the rice. You have to make the decision whether or not you want your family to live."

Young Do watched as the board fought with themselves. Jimin had hit them right where it mattered most. Many of them had grown up in poor families and had worked their way to the top. They remembered the days where food was minimal or scarce. Jimin was appealing to their basic human instincts.

Yoon Won Sung, one of the oldest serving board members, leaned forward. "We agree to the terms for Jeguk, but what about Song and So?"

Jimin deferred to Yi Jeong with a turn of her head. "We would like accommodations for our artists whose shows we put on and promote."

Woo Bin looked up. "We just want to repay kindnesses that have been given to us."

This time Won was stumped. "What kindness?"

"Jimin effectively stopped a takeover from within the company when she interned. A coup d'état would be a better description. By doing so, she was threatened and blackmailed. She never backed down. When she graduated from Shinhwa University, my father and Yi Jeong's wrote glowing recommendations. So if you're thinking this woman is no Choi Dong Uk, you're right. She's not. She's sitting here with you as the man who owns this company sits in prison."

Jeong Ji Suk spoke up. "Why did Choi Dong Uk make you acting CEO? There are people who are much more qualified."

Everyone held their breaths as Jimin turned her gaze to the older woman. Charisma oozed off her, but four people gathered knew it hid disdain and annoyance.

"I may be underqualified for this positon, but I'm brutally honest and nitpicky. Nothing that crosses my desk will leave until it's perfect. I don't expect honesty. I demand it. This company will turn around one way or another. If you don't like it, there's the door. I can always find a replacement. Shareholders are included."

It wasn't exactly a threat, but it wasn't warm and fuzzy either. Jimin wasn't playing. Those who weren't on board would be let go without a second thought, their seat and shares taken away.

"But the president," someone tried to fight.

"Has given me full authority to fire and hire as I please. This is no longer your playground. You will no longer run over those beneath you. Integrity and honor will be your best friends. If I find out about under the table deal, it's an automatic release from your job. Play the game wisely."

The die had been cast. Who would rise and who would fall was yet to be seen.

The rest of the meeting passed without any hassles. The floor had been opened for discussions on how long the building process should take and how many people should work on the project. Everything was hashed out by ten-thirty and everyone was ready to go.

Young Do remained seated as everyone filed out. Jimin, Won, Woo Bin and Yi Jeong were talking about something pertinent and it was consuming all their energy. No one paid attention to him until they were done.

"So we're on for dinner tomorrow night?" Woo Bin asked as the three men stood up.

Jimin nodded. "Yep. Make sure your heathens don't throw food this time. That Bin Ji is a short terror."

"That short terror gets that from his crazy mother."

Yi Jeong tsked. "She'll punch you if she heard you say that."

Woo Bin turned to his friend. "Don't you tell her either. I'm already in the doghouse about that chest you two built."

The younger man shrugged. "It's not my fault you don't listen."

The two men bickered all the way out the door. Won and Jimin looked at each other and smiled before Won excused himself. That left Jimin and Young Do alone in the meeting room.

Jimin should have been nervous about Young Do getting mad, but she wasn't. One reason was it hadn't sank in yet. He couldn't believe she was sitting in his dad's seat. The other was because he had just heard her threaten everyone to straighten up or be dismissed. He knew she wasn't just playing with his dad's money.

Young Do stood when she motioned him to follow her to the office. She sat down behind the desk then filed everything away. It felt weird to see her back there.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked after finally getting the courage to ask.

"Your dad wanted you to focus on school. He knew it wouldn't bother you until you graduated high school. I kept it from you until you came to terms with the fact that I was back for the time being." She looked him dead in the eye. "I'm not going easy on you simply because you technically own this company. I'm the company CEO so you have to listen to. You have to continue washing dishes on the weekends and school breaks. I will let you go with me to meetings once you prove you're not going to undermine me. If you don't prove yourself, I will never turn it over to you when you graduate college."

Young Do stared at her like she had grown a second head. She was going to challenge him for his own inheritance. The look on her face told him she wasn't going to give him everything he wanted because he said so. That was probably the reason his father had chosen her to take over the company.

"What are you doing for lunch?" he asked. It was the only thing that came to mind after finding that his new boss was going to be his friend.

She looked up at him like he had just lost his mind. "Don't you have class?"

He looked around sheepishly. "Yeah, but it's not like I like it."

"Go to class. You're not going to get any closer by skipping. There will always be times where we can get something to eat and talk about this, but not today. You haven't had time to calm down and think rationally."

"If I don't start thinking rationally?"

"Then we'll settle it on the mat. But don't complain if I toss you."

He scoffed. "I'm a lot bigger than you. There's no way you could toss me over your shoulder."

"Don't say things that you're going to have to eat later. I tossed a guy twice your size weight wise just the other day. Don't tell me I can't do something. I got to where I am now because people told me I couldn't. Your dad was one of them, and look where we are now. He had to come to me because he couldn't keep his nose clean."

"If I go to class, will you help me study?"

"Only if you leave right now and head to class."

Young Do knew he wasn't going to win this argument so he turned and left the office. She had left all the pictures and things his father had put on the walls. In fact the whole office was his father's. She hadn't put any of her personal belongings in that office. He wondered if she had any personal belongings. He hadn't seen any.

But that thought had sent him down another rabbit trail. What if she had a boyfriend? He slammed the his hand on the elevator button just thinking about it.


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Note: So my best friend and I have a tradition. We go eat Chinese or Taco Bell for dinner then wander around two of the largest stores in my hometown. There's not much else to do, but we use the time to catch up on things we missed since we've been separated. It's always fun and we're always late to whatever we're going to do.

(*(*(*(*(*(*(*(*(*(*

Jimin was running late. She hadn't meant to but her meeting with Kim Won had taken a lot longer than she had thought it would. She had had to go home and change clothes because Won may not mind an old pair of jeans and a cut up t-shirt, but the restaurant Woo Bin had made a reservation at a high end one. They wouldn't accept it.

She had run home, redone her hair, and changed clothes. Only the outfit she wanted to wear was dirty and she hadn't had time to do laundry and refused to send it out for drying cleaning that cost more than electricity. That's the price you paid to live in Gangnam. That hadn't been her choice, but her rent was free. All she had to pay was water and electricity. Not a bad deal for a girl who had to help pay everything growing up.

Finally dressed in a skirt, tights, and a really comfy sweater, she had been ready to go. But then she had forgotten her phone, or thought she had. It hadn't been back in her house so it meant she had left it at Won's office. She didn't have time to go back to Jeguk office and get it.

But that hadn't been the end of it. She had collided with a table out in the hallway of her building and had ripped her tights right on the knee. She still didn't have time to go back in and change so she just went on. The elevator ride took too long for her tastes so she took the stairs.

The traffic was backed up all over. She had about six blocks to make in the cold. The cold wasn't the problem. People were all over the sidewalks too. The lights and festive decorations were still up, and everyone was acting like it was the New Year again. That had been nearly a week ago.

"Aish," she muttered as she surveyed the street and the sidewalk, trying to determine the lesser of two evils. Shaking her head, she started down the sidewalk. "Either way I'm going to be late."

She was careful of everyone. That and her knee throbbed painfully in the cold. She should have worn her knee-high boots instead of the calf-high, but it was too late to go back. She enjoyed walking through the streets because she didn't get to do it enough anymore. It was especially fun around the holidays because of all the lights and smells as every vendor got ready for their seasonal foods.

"Jimin." She turned as a car door slammed. Young Do stalked up to her in his classic bad boy swagger. "Why aren't you in a car? It's cold."

"I'm heading to dinner with Woo Bin, but I'm late. Traffic's backed up so I can't take a car and I left my phone at Won's," she answered as she turned around.

Young Do fished in his pocket as he followed her. He handed her his phone. Jimin didn't argue as she took it from him and immediately dialed the number she had memorized a long time ago. She didn't stop walking as she called Woo Bin and explained what was going on. He didn't hear what was said on the other end of the phone but he was certain they told her to take her time.

"Thanks," she said as she handed it back to him. "I texted Won to see if he had my phone. He should answer soon."

Young Do slid up beside her and pushed her closer to the buildings. She just smiled and shook her head at him. He had been taught once that when walking down the street men are to be on the outside in case something happens and they have to shove the woman away from the road. He may not have had the best attitude towards everyone, but he wouldn't let a woman get hurt if he could help it.

Jimin brushed into his side as she tried to avoid a mother and child. His heart hammered. He exhaled sharply at what he realized it meant. His feelings for Cha Eun Sang were being replaced by the woman at his side. He had known her since he had been born and she had been a staple in his life for eight years.

Because his parents' relationship had failed, he had thought that none of his would work either and had never pursued them. Until Cha Eun Sang. She hadn't made him feel like he was worthless. But that had ended when she had chosen Kim Tan and he was back to square one.

Now here was Jimin, eleven years older than him and running the company he hoped to one day take over. She wasn't doing anything different than any normal persona walking down the street, but he had known her a very long time. For a while he had thought she and Kim Won would marry, but Won had married Yang Da Kyung in a political marriage.

Jimin was too peaceful for a man not to notice. Even as they were walking down the street, she was getting glances from all the men as they passed by. But true to her nature, she didn't look at them. As far as he knew, she hadn't had a boyfriend during the time he remembered her. It made him wonder why she had shied away from relationships at such an early age. She had a good heart, so why weren't men standing in line to date her? He would be the first in line if she gave him the chance.

They came to the restaurant and Jimin walked in. The hostess smiled and led them to an enclosed room where Yi Jeong and Woo Bin and another man were waiting. One woman was with them and she was sitting by Woo Bin with a toddler on her with her head on her shoulder. Jimin didn't look surprised as she unbuttoned her coat and started to slide it off. Young Do immediately jumped in to take it.

Unfazed, she blew air through her teeth. "Today has been interesting. Won Oppa wanted to meet. I left my phone, my clothes aren't washed and I whacked my knee coming out of my building. Then traffic was backed up."

Woo Bin laughed. "You should have called. We would have picked you up before we arrived."

"I was planning a basketball tournament with Oppa. We were trying to rent out the Jeguk High gymnasium, but Jeong Ji Suk is being a pain and refused."

"We'll talk to Jun Pyo about renting Shinhwa's gym. He should let you."

Jimin nodded then turned to Young Do. "Sorry. I nearly forgot. This is Choi Young Do. Young Do, you know Woo Bin and Yi Jeong oppa. The woman beside Woo Bin is his wife Eri and their youngest daughter Rin Ah. The ruddy haired guy is Yoon Ji Hoo Oppa. He's the doctor in this family and the quiet one. It'd be amazing if you got him to talk. Since I've known him, he's barely said six words to me in any one meeting. I personally think he's harboring a grudge."

"Ji Hoo doesn't harbor grudges or get even. He just kind of slides by without really feeling anything," Yi Jeong said.

Eri snorted inelegantly. "That's a lie. He's still mad at me for retiring to focus on art."

Ji Hoo turned his head to look at her. "You were a brilliant cardiovascular surgeon. Don't get me wrong. You're an amazing artist too, but I liked that I was able to see you every day."

Woo Bin laughed. "You see her every day. You bring coffee by on your way to work and stop by on your way home. Don't lie."

Jimin leaned forward. "He still does that?" Yi Jeong nodded with a half-smile. "Oppa, you should be glad he's your friend. I've seen firsthand what happens when a guy hits on Woo Bin Oppa's girlfriend or wife."

"I keep forgetting you two dated freshman year of college," Yi Jeong said.

Young Do looked at Jimin then. She met his gaze but wasn't flustered in the least bit. So she'd had a boyfriend nearly ten years ago and hadn't mentioned it. Could he be the reason she hadn't had one recently or was married?

"It was only for a month, and then we realized that we were just better off as friends. We're both way too similar anyway for it to have worked out. Besides, he's way too happy with Eri. We're not bitter," she explained.

"It shows. Not many exes can sit across from each other and talk like normal human beings," Yi Jeong said.

Jimin scrunched her nose. "Human being, yes, but I'll have to debate the normal comment."

Young Do watched the exchange in fascination. Jimin was so used to wealthy people that she just rolled with the punches. She shot back at them when they said something snarky and picked at their faults and weaknesses. She was their friend and it showed in how they spoke to each other without honorifics.

"Jiminie, are you having your usual?" Ji Hoo asked, speaking for the first time directly to her. He used the familiar with her, making Young Do cringe inwardly. Not even he used that term. He rarely used Noona.

"Did you order it already?" she asked.

"We told them it would be about ten minutes when we ordered, but we didn't think you'd bring a friend," Yi Jeong said with a smile.

Jimin shook her head with a weird look on her face. "Don't do that. Whenever you get that look, it means you're thinking something that is completely off the radar."

"Fine, I'll ask. Are you dating a younger man?" Eri asked. She adjusted her daughter on her lap and rocked from side to side.

"Eonni, how can you ask that? You know how I feel about that."

"No, don't start with the same thing Junho said to us. You can't be a spinster all your life," Woo Bin said.

"I'll do what I want, Oppa."

That started a fight that lasted until their meal arrived. Jimin turned to Young Do and offered to share with him since they hadn't ordered him anything. Not to be rude, he took her up on the offer even though he knew the looks they were getting from the others. Rin Ah woke up long enough to eat, then settled down in her father's arms and went back to sleep.

Young Do noticed that all joking was over while they were eating. The conversations turned towards their kids and spouses. Jun Pyo and his wife Jan Di were out of town on a business trip with their two children. Yi Jeong's wife was with their sick children, and Ji Hoo's wife was working as their friend Junho babysat. They all had their own lives and yet they were close enough to share it with an outsider.

"Young Do-ssi, how do you know Jiminie?" Ji Hoo asked as they were ordering dessert.

Ruffled that he used the familiar again, Young Do turned to stare at the older man. "I've known her since I was born."

"How old are you?"

"Oppa, don't start that," Jimin scolded, but it was hard to take her seriously as she was eating chocolate cake.

"And you're how old?" Ji Hoo continued.

"I'm twenty. What does it matter?"

"Young Do, don't start." Jimin had given up on the niceties. She was in CEO mode and it was emphasized by her posture. She sat up straight and leaned back in her chair with her arms crossed. The happy look had disappeared as she stared at Ji Hoo. "Oppa, I asked you not to start. He's got a nasty temper when he thinks he's being challenged or he's been slighted. Not even you would come out of a fight with him unscathed. And if you take him to court, I'd make sure you received nothing but court costs."

Eri popped her friend in the back of the head. "Why are you in a foul mood tonight? You weren't like this this afternoon?"

Ji Hoo didn't answer but it was written all over his face. Something had happened between the time he saw his friends and dinner. Normally he was very cheerful, but this afternoon had been hard.

After a brief fight about who would pay the bill (Woo Bin won), they went their separate ways. Young Do followed Jimin again. Instead of going home, she went directly to a coffee shop and sat by the window. He could tell she was thinking of all the things they had discussed at dinner.

At first when they had arrived, he thought they were going to be discussing business but they had talked on a personal level. No dinner he had attended had been that relaxed. They hadn't been in any hurry.

"I love hanging out with them, but lately they wear me out," she confessed as she sat in the booth.

"Could it be all the kids?" he asked.

"Probably. Between the four couples, there are nine kids. Add the others kids, and the number goes up about twenty. When they do family get together's, there is a lot of food and a lot of noise."

"How do you handle it?"

"Easy. I don't go most of the time. Lately I've become close with Junsu and Junho, a set of twins that own a bakery business. They bring me food on a regular basis."

Young Do looked from the window. "So everyone but me knows where you live?"

She shook her head. "No, Oppa doesn't know. Any time we have to meet, we do it outside of our homes. Usually in the offices or at a neutral sight like a coffee shop."

"Who helped you move in?"

"Woo Bin Oppa. He had a free weekend after my finals and helped me pick the place and move in. At the beginning he loaned me some money to pay my rent but I've paid him back."

"You rely on him a lot."

"Not as much anymore. I did when I first graduated but that's been nearly ten years ago. Now I do my own thing, but when your father called me, I knew I was going to need help. Oppa owed me a favor."

"You seem so much calmer now. But I don't like those guys calling you Jiminie."

Jimin looked up at him and smiled. "Are you jealous?"

"I don't call you Jiminie. I don't even call you Noona."

Her smile widened. "You are jealous." She leaned across the table with this glint in her eye. "Young Do-ah."

He wrinkled his nose at her use of familiarity. She had never called him Young Do-ah and was just doing it to get under his skin because he was jealous.

She started laughing and leaned back in her seat to look out the window. That smile. She was the most at ease he had seen her since he had known she had returned. They weren't talking about business or family. It was just the warmth of the building and coffee to comfort them.

"Oh? Young Do?" He turned around at the sound of Myeong Su's voice. "Why are you here?" He looked at Jimin and smiled. "Oh! I didn't know you were on a date. Hello, Noona."

Jimin smiled. "Hello. You're Jo Myeong Su aren't you?" He nodded enthusiastically. "I could tell. One of my friends said she met a nice young guy at a bar but he refused his phone number because he was a minor, but he did give a name. Jo Myeong Su. Should I call your father? He is the lawyer handling Dong Uk's case isn't he? I'm sure he'd be glad to know his son is hitting on older women. Fathers are like that nowadays."

Young Do laughed at the look on his friend's face. Jimin knew how to wield power when she had it. No one had scared Myeong Su quite like that.

"It's all right. I won't, but quit hitting on people you're not going to give the time of day to." She slid out of the booth and stood. "I'm going home. I'll see you at work tomorrow, Young Do."

Young Do smacked Myeong Su in the back of the head. "You had to ruin it."

"What did she mean by that?" Myeong Su countered.

"She's the acting CEO of my dad's company. I have to do well if I ever want a chance at taking over. But I was making headway. You ruined it by opening your mouth!"

"You like her don't you? You like that Noona?"

"She's my Noona. And yes, I think I do."

It was the first time admitting it, and it actually felt good. Now he knew what the emotions were that had annoyed him at dinner when Yoon Ji Hoo had called her Jiminie. He had never called her anything but Jimin since he had been able to talk. He had always thought she was too good for him even when he had been little. Familiar speech was only used for those who you loved beyond a shadow of a doubt, but Dong Uk had scolded him so many times for calling her Jiminie.

Myeong Su followed him out of the coffee shop and into the night air, talking ninety to nothing. By the time he had called for his car, his best friend had started planning a group date for the college kids. He had demanded that Jimin be in attendance. The only problem with that was he didn't know how busy she was going to be on the date of the date.


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Note: So last night was the Joe Nichols concert. I held my nephew as he slept, but that's not the point of this whole thing. I ended up cutting my finger on the bathroom stall at the Mexican restaurant two hours before! The liquid bandage they gave me didn't help, so what did I do when I got home last night? I superglued it. Superglue and duct tape are the two things that can fix almost anything in this world. Lord knows I superglued my cuts more than once. It's a staple in my first aid kit.

(*(*(*(*(*(*(*(*(*(*(

Jimin felt awful. Her head throbbed and she couldn't breathe. She had a terrible cough that sounded like she was dying. The sinus infection had hit hard and fast. She'd had a meeting the day before and had noticed her throat was raw. The next morning she had woken up and bam! she felt like dying.

She had been determined to get up and go to work. Like a normal Korean, she'd put on a mask and walked to work like nothing was wrong. She'd cancelled her morning meetings in hopes the medicine she had taken would absolve her symptoms. By two o'clock when she was supposed to meet Woo Bin and Yi Jeong, nothing had changed. They had tried I get her to go home, but she hadn't listened.

Now she wished she had. She had the lights turned off and had had a meeting that way. She felt like death warmed over. Her skin was clammy and pallid and she wasn't hungry. She kept hydrated but as far as food went, she refused it every time. Her secretary had stopped asking if she wanted to eat and had just started bringing water.

She was currently sitting at her desk with her head in her hands trying not to burst out in tears. Her head hurt so bad that it seemed like it would explode at any moment. Luckily her noon meeting had been cancelled. She now had a two hour window to act like she was a living human being before she was supposed to meet Won, Woo Bin, and Yi Jeong.

There was a knock at the door and her secretary poked his head in. Jimin didn't hear what he said, but someone had come in behind him. She could barely make out who it was.

Young Do walked through the familiar doors and stopped. Jimin looked awful sitting slouched over, she had her head in her hands and looked to be shivering. He turned to the secretary and demanded a first aid kit.

Impatiently he stalked forward and spun the chair around. He had to catch Jimin before she keeled over. She was burning up; that he could feel through her clothes. There was a fine sheen of sweat that covered her skin and was slowly dampening her clothes.

The secretary returned and Young Do ripped into the box. He pulled out the thermometer and shoved it into her mouth. Seconds later the stupid thing beeped. 38.4 degrees Celsius (101.2 F to those who aren't on the metric system). The woman was seriously sick.

Without a word, he jerked her into his arms and started out the office door. No one in the waiting room said a word as he stalked past them. He didn't even stop when he ran into Won, Woo Bin, and Yi Jeong. They shared a brief look, and the three seemed to accept what was going on.

"I called the front desk. They have a room readied on the fourteenth floor," the secretary said.

"No, she'll rest at my place so I can monitor her," Young Do snipped.

The secretary didn't argue. He was on the phone immediately.

Young Do stepped off the elevator one floor down and turned left. He kicked the door when he came to it, and a few seconds later his mother opened it. She stared at him as he brushed by. The next thing he heard were pots and pans rattling.

When he was satisfied that she was as comfortable as she was going to be, he took her shoes and left the room. He smelled porridge as soon as he entered the kitchen. His mother was separating batches into small bowls.

"How is she?" she asked.

"Sick," he replied. "The idiot doesn't know how to stop and rest."

"She's always been that way. Remember that match when she was sixteen? She trained hard for that. You were only five at the time so you might not."

"I actually do. I remember how sweaty she was one night when she came over to babysit. That was the time she came in third in the national competition."

"She has always been very driven." Kyung Ran patted his shoulder. "I have to go to work. Make sure she eats something when she wakes up."

When she shut the door, Young Do realized he was alone in the house with Jimin. She had taken care of him when he had been sick as a child, and now it was his turn to return the favor.

He was cleaning up his mother's mess when a phone rang. It wasn't his because his ringtone wasn't anything GOT7. He went in search and found that it was Jimin's. He pulled it out of her bag that he luckily remembered to grab and checked caller ID. It was Yi Jeong.

"Hello?" he said.

"Give me your room number. Woo Bin is going to bring by some extra clothes. And notice I didn't ask your permission to have it. We'll handle all the meetings until she gets well," Yi Jeong stated without even a greeting.

Young Do rattled off his room number then put the phone back where he found it and went back to the kitchen to clean.

(*(*(*(*(*(*(*(

Jimin knew she wasn't in her room. The sheets felt completely different and the pillow was way too soft. She must have passed out somewhere and was taken captive. But upon inspecting the room, she realized she hadn't been kidnapped at all.

She tossed the blanket off her and realized someone had changed her clothes. Annoyed, she thought it had been Young Do but remembered that Kyung Ran was also living in the house. Even though she had been out of Young Do's life for a few years, she was still a proper Korean woman. She would have been the one to change her clothes.

Checking her phone, she realized that she had been sleeping for nearly two days. That included the day her noon meeting had been cancelled. So technically it was going on the third day since it was midnight. Her stomach rumbled and she figured she'd better get something to eat since it had been three days since she had eaten.

Jimin ventured out into the main part of the room. She had forgotten that the Choi family lived in one of the bigger rooms in the hotel. The penthouse had been converted to the office spaces because it would house the seven people in control. All the staff's offices were on the first floor so it didn't take up too much space.

She walked into the kitchen and found a note on the fridge from Kyung Ran making sure she (Jimin) ate when she woke up. Laughing, Jimin pulled out the container and pulled the lid off it. She rummaged around in the drawers for a spoon then grabbed a drink from the fridge while there was still thirty seconds left on the clock. When it beeped, she pulled it out and sat at the island.

A door down the hallway opened. The smell of fog and shampoo hit her before she saw Young do padding down the hallway. She watched him as she ate and realized he wasn't the little kid she had babysat fourteen years ago. He was now a man, and he looked it. She figured he didn't think she'd be sitting in the kitchen because his shirt was draped across the back of the couch. As it was, he showed off his six pack for the world to see.

The spoon just happened to be hanging out of her mouth when he looked up and finally realized she was sitting there and he was shirtless. Normal men would be shocked, but Young Do took his precious time to dry off then put his shirt on. She wasn't fazed in the slightest. She had stayed with Woo Bin before, and he had been the same way.

"How long have you been up?" he asked as he rummaged in the fridge.

"About twenty minutes I think. Next time you can do without the theatrics," she replied.

"I wasn't expecting you to be up. I definitely wasn't expecting you to be eating. I thought I was going to have a fight on my hands."

"I haven't eaten in three days."

"When was the last time you ate?"

"Thursday morning. I skipped breakfast and dinner, and haven't eaten since because I hurt so badly."

"That's not healthy."

She waved her spoon around in a whatever motion. Her attention was caught on something. "What is that bag?"

Young Do followed the metal spoon to the black bag lying beside the couch. "That is yours. Yi Jeong dropped it off on his way to a meeting with Kim Won and a couple of other big names you've contacted to work on this expansion. He said not to wake you and keep you here until Monday. It's hard to argue with him."

Jimin left her spot and went over to her bag. "That's because Yi Jeong is friends with Goo Jun Pyo and has to be an excellent debater to get anything done. I can't even win against him."

She rummaged through the bag for a minute until she pulled out a tablet. She turned it on and flipped through whatever she found on there. A curse came from her and she disappeared into his bedroom only to return with her phone.

"Hey, So Yi Jeong! What is your problem? Why didn't you add the minutes of the meeting and what you had decided?" Young Do laughed at the serious look on her face. She was mad at her friend. "I'm gone two days and you lose all sense of intelligence. You know that I double check everything."

The phone was on speaker so he could hear the entire exchange. "You know why I didn't add everything. You work so much that you forget to take care of yourself. You even did that while working with me."

"I never worked with you because you were always with Ga Eul or stuck in your studio. You had no time for the outside world. I'm surprised you even had a girlfriend. Can you even perform?'

Young Do couldn't help the laugh that bubbled up. He dropped his head to his arm on the table and laughed until he cried. But the conversation continued.

"Why do you guys always attack my manhood? I am completely healthy. I do have two children while you have none."

Jimin made a face at the phone. "It's not that I don't want kids, I just don't have the time. I am running a company at the moment. But that's not the point. Give me the rest of the information before I pry it out of your hands. I'm not afraid of Eri or Ga Eul. I will get what I want."

"You and Eri have had it out before."

"And do you remember who won?'

"You cheated, and you know it. You embarrassed the fire out of Woo Bin and he gave you what you wanted. He's still a bit bitter about that."

"Just because I told the story about Woo Bin losing his swimming shorts while jet skiing doesn't mean I was mean. He even laughed at it."

"He laughs at everything."

She was getting flustered. "I still have some stories on you. Let's not forget who got drunk and ended up naked covered in clay on his studio floor. Now should I tell Ga Eul that story, or are you going to give me my information."

Yi Jeong muttered under his breath as Jimin winked at Young Do. She was feisty and about to get her way. He heard a clicking in the background followed by a whooshing. "Fine. I just sent everything to you."

Jimin hit the power button. "Don't you hang up until I check." She bit her lower lip as she checked her email. "You got lucky, So Yi Jeong. I was going to have to come through the phone."

"That would be a sight to see. Choi Young Do, don't let her come upstairs until she feels better. We're sending a present tomorrow morning."

The call ended abruptly. Annoyed, Jimin slammed the phone down on the countertop. She looked over the notes that had been sent to her, her bottom lip stuck between her teeth and hair falling in her face. At that moment Young Do knew that any guy who was attracted to her would die. He was going to have to figure out a way to get her to like him in return. Maybe he could accomplish that in the next two days before they went back to their normal lives.


	8. Chapter 8

Jimin was going crazy. She had been in that room for hours. There was nothing she could do. She was on strict orders not to go upstairs by people who weren't even in the company. They expected her to listen to them, but she was tired of being cooped up. She felt trapped.

It had only been one day…

She sat on the couch by herself. Young Do had left early that morning for class. She had been asleep when he had walked out the door. He had texted her three times from the time he had left until now to make sure she was up and eating. She was up, but at the moment wasn't hungry.

She had never been good at being alone. Even as a kid she'd had to have someone around. She was an only child so she hadn't had any siblings to play with. The kids at school had been a little scared of her because she had been in judo since she was five. So when she had gotten in Jeguk High School because of her grades and had befriended the surly class president Kim Won, she had been excited. Won had been her close and only friend until she had moved.

She had gone back to being alone when she had moved. It had only been for a year, but that year had been long. She had studied and trained until she had been accepted into Shinhwa University on a judo/academic scholarship. But even then she was alone.

Then Song Woo Bin had crashed into her life. Literally. He had nearly run her over with his Lotus in the crosswalk. She had damaged his hood with her bare fist, and that had been the start of their wacky relationship. He had pursued her until she had broken his nose (another thing she thought she was going to have to pay for). He had laughed at her then pursued some more. Eventually they had started a causal dating relationship.

But Jimin had gotten too busy quickly. By her sophomore year, she had started at So Yi Jeong's company as a paid intern while maintaining her grades. They had amicably decided to split but had remained friends. She had even been there when he had met Eri.

They had all stayed close to her, but she'd still been alone. Now it was happening again. She was alone in running a company and in her personal life. Every guy she had been interested in was too intimated by the company she kept. Whenever they had asked where she had worked, they had shied away when finding out she was friends with F4.

She was pacing the floor when the door opened. A familiar face preceded Young Do in coming into the house. He was holding a box and a carrying tray with four cups of coffee. A second familiar face wandered in next.

Kim Junsu looked irate as he fought Young Do's hold. He and his twin brother Junho had been brought into the fold by Eri. They had worked at the café she had frequented while going to school. This had been before she had married Woo Bin. Now Junsu and his brother owned two café bakeries and were working on opening a third one. His wife McCall helped him run the café in Gangnam after giving up her cozy position at Starbucks.

The other guy was Cho Min Ho. His dad used to be a hot shot business man until his twin sister Min Hae had challenged Woo Bin's legitimacy. Then Eri had attacked them and their company had gone out of business quickly. Min Ho and his wife Jae Kyung hadn't been affected. Both now worked in Yi Jeong's art shop.

She realized that this was Yi Jeong and Woo Bin's doing. She wasn't sure if they realized that Young Do was kind of crazy.

"Let them go," she said. Young Do's hand fell away instantly, and Junsu shrugged his shoulders to settle his clothing. "You can tell Woo Bin and Yi Jeong that you were manhandled when you showed up."

Min Ho smiled brightly. "At least you're not kicking us out."

"I couldn't if I wanted to. I'm bored. What did Junho send?"

Junsu smiled and set his package down on the coffee table and handed her a coffee. "Melon bread seems to be everyone's favorite. There's honey bread, and banana nut bread. He even tried this new marble bread but I'm not really sure what that means."

"He used white bread and chocolate together. He used either white or chocolate as the base bread and swirled the other in with a skewer or chopstick," she explained as she pulled things out of the bag faster. "Oh! He made fish bread and cream puffs!"

"You two don't need to go to Japan together anymore. You learn way too quickly."

Min Ho smacked his friend in the shoulder as he sat down on the floor on the other side of the coffee table. "You're always so judgmental when it comes to your brother."

"Well, he doesn't need to go to Japan with a woman. It will give everyone the wrong idea."

Jimin threw the plastic wrap at him. "I'm his friend."

"Yes, and that's the problem. Mom still wants him to get married. When he said he was going with Shin Jimin, Mom became so excited. She thought he had finally gotten a girlfriend. But no! It was just you. She still has hope that he will get married and have kids."

"If you'd quit giving her hope by telling her that he's meeting women, she wouldn't feel let down when he tells her they're just friends."

Min Ho let the two bicker and turned to the other guy in the room. "Sorry to interrupt. We found out yesterday that Noona was sick. Woo Bin hyung and Yi Jeong hyung told us that we needed to come over and keep her company while you were at class. We didn't realize you only had morning classes."

Young Do swallowed down the anger at the familiar he used when talking about Jimin. "I have three morning classes then two this afternoon. I decided to come by to check in on her since she didn't answer my last text." He looked pointedly at Jimin who was still arguing with Junsu over something trivial. "Are they always like that?"

Min Ho glanced over just in time to see Jimin pull her punch before it landed on Junsu's knee. "Those two have an abusive relationship. He ticks her off, and she beats the crap out of him. But he was the first one here when he found out she was sick."

Young Do watched the two of them settle into a comfortable conversation. He was really jealous at how simple it was for them for them to ease into it. Now he had to be careful of what he said because she was in charge of his future.

"If you like her, you don't have to think too much of it." Young Do looked at Min Ho. "I've known Jimin for a few years. She's not the type to jump into anything she doesn't want. If she doesn't want you, then that's the end, but you won't know unless you say something. Brooding over it won't help."

"Are all of F4 nosy?"

Min Ho looked back at Junsu and Jimin and smiled. "Yes, in a way. It's how we take care of each other."

Young Do sat back and listened to the conversation as it happened. Jimin was very relaxed something he hadn't seen in the few weeks he had known she was here. She was sitting with her back against the couch and one leg drawn up. Her arm was draped across her knee and her wrist loose.

The atmosphere was very simple as they shared food and tried the new pastry Junho had come up with. Young Do realized they were very close, but something in the way Jimin talked to them told him she was reserved just a little. It was in her face. She was interested in what they had to say but her eyes said she was reserved in her expressions. She hadn't had too much involvement with this side of F4.

As lunch time was nearing, he noticed she was lagging. Her medicine had taken effect a long while ago and the effects were just starting to be noticed. Young Do stood up and dropped his cup to the table. He walked around the coffee table, stepped over Junsu, and extended his hand to Jimin. She looked up at him for briefly then slid her hand into his. He pulled her up, free arm going around her waist and holding her close. Her body was still warm from a slight fever but it wasn't as bad as it had been.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but she needs to rest. Her fever only broke early this morning and I don't want to overextend her bounds," he said. He didn't leave any room for arguing as he started walking towards the bedroom door. Luckily Jimin didn't argue as he pushed her ahead of him.

Junsu and Min Ho shared a smile as they cleaned up the space. What Woo Bin had said was completely correct. Choi Young Do liked Jimin much more than a friend. He was bad at expressing it verbally but physically it was all there. He knew how to make a person feel bad for visiting a sick friend.

They didn't say anything as they rode the elevator down to the lobby. Woo Bin and Yi Jeong were in the building running the meetings that Jimin should be but couldn't. Their plan had been for them to see how Young Do was treating Jimin and see how she was. Since the younger man had already met Woo Bin and Yi Jeong and didn't seem to like them, they were the best ones for the job even if they weren't as close to Jimin as the older two.

They stepped off the elevator and went immediately to the restaurant. Woo Bin, Yi Jeong and Goo Jun Pyo were seated by a window and talking comfortably. Jun Pyo must have just returned from his overseas business trip. It was surprising not to see Jan Di with him, but she must have wanted to take the kids home so they could go to bed.

As soon as Woo Bin saw them, he waved them over. The two sat in the empty seats at the table and leaned against it. Yi Jeong and Jun Pyo finished their conversation and turned to them.

"Anything good?" Woo Bin asked.

Junsu smiled and ruffled his blue hair. "Oh, yeah. That boy is completely head over heels for her, but Jimin just lets it slide over her shoulders like it's not even there."

"Mmhmm," Woo Bin gargled in his drink. "That's where Jimin and Eri are just alike. Sometimes she doesn't realize other people's emotions. She's horrible at reading the atmosphere."

"It's a miracle the two of you worked out for as long as you did," Jun Pyo quipped.

"It wasn't very long, but long enough for me to figure out that some people just don't understand how to act when someone truly cares. So what's our plan? Are we going to try to push the two together?"

"It may backfire," Yi Jeong rationalized. "Jimin is in charge of this company. Choi Young Do is heir to this company. She's already told him that he has to work to earn the position of CEO. If we try to push them together, she may think he's trying to take over. She will withdraw back into that working shell and refuse to see any of us."

He made a good point. Jimin was a good friend, but if she thought business was about to mixed with pleasure, that was the end. She would not only withdraw, but she would find a way to ignore them no matter what it was. The last time she had done that, it had taken Yi Jeong two months to get her out of the office and into real life.

Woo Bin blew air into his cheeks. "We may have to enlist the help of those closest to Young Do for help. He may not like it, but we can't push from our angle. Jimin's too stubborn."

Min Ho tilted his head. "Why are you so concerned with Jimin dating someone? Did you cheat on her or something?"

The oldest member of F4 shook his head. "It wasn't anything like that. We were never really serious, but I feel bad that I couldn't protect her when she was fighting the battle for Song Construction. Her name was drug the mud on a bad call from the media. She came to work and sat in the meetings without a word. She only spoke when spoken to, and there was nothing I could do. I couldn't even ask if she was all right because doing so would mean I was giving favor to one of the interns and I couldn't do that."

"You think she's going to go through the same thing with Zeus Hotel Company don't you?" Yi Jeong asked.

He nodded. "She's very cut and dry with her tactics. If she doesn't like something, she will tell you. She doesn't like dishonesty and that's what caused all her other coworkers to start running their mouths. If that happens here, she's liable to retreat into herself."

Jun Pyo frowned slightly. "Do I remember this girl?"

"She casually dated Woo Bin for a couple months in college. She was at the top of the class directly below us," Yi Jeong answered. "She's nice but a little detached from everyone. I don't know how else to explain it."

"Why don't we plan a dinner? We can invite all of Young Do's friends and anyone who is affiliated with Zeus Hotel Company. Let's keep it anyone under the age of twenty-five. We don't want to make this even worse than it is."

"She's not going to accept us being there," Min Ho said. "She barely could stand the twins when they were together. I don't think she'll be very happy about us being at dinner."

"That's a possibility. Or she could just withdraw into herself and ignore us," Junsu said. "She's done that for years. Ever since she met us she's done that."

"How do we remedy that?"

"We don't," Yi Jeong said. "Jimin isn't going to change. Everything that she does has been instilled in her since she was a kid."

"She may not like you, but we're not trying to get her to like you. We want her to like Young Do as much as he likes her, but she's not going to do anything with us around. Leaving them alone upstairs will do more than planning anything. There's another meeting planned for next week. We'll see how they do by then," Woo Bin said.

The plan sounded good but there was one variable and her name was Shin Jimin. If she didn't want to do anything, she wasn't going to do it. That was her mentality. If she didn't reciprocate Young Do's feelings, there was no point in any of this. There was nothing they could do. It all depended on Jimin.


	9. Chapter 9

Author's Note: So I think I've rubbed off on my kids at work. They are now asking to listen KPop. It's kind of bad but they enjoy it. As long as they enjoy it, I'm happy.

As for this story, it just kind of popped into my head. What would happen if I crossed Boys over Flowers with the Heirs? As of right now it's going well, even though I don't know if the characters will end up together. Stories take on minds of their own as I work through them so we'll see.

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Jimin stared out the window and wondered why it was so cold. Then she remembered it was March and it would remain cold until about mid-May. Then it would get hot.

"Noona, are you paying attention?"

She turned her head to look at Kim Tan. The young man had called her out earlier that morning and asked if she wanted to get breakfast. She of course didn't care if they did or didn't but he was very persistent. She met him at a coffee shop in her neighborhood. He ordered coffee and a fruit salad of sorts. It turned out the coffee shop was the one where his girlfriend worked. She just happened to be on the morning shift that day.

Tan had spent half the time watching Cha Eun Sang as she moved around behind the counter. He couldn't keep his eyes off her, and Jimin didn't want to see that. So she had turned to look out the window and had started watching people. She never understood how girls could wear short skirts during the winter time. It gave her a new realization that most guys and girls were dumb. The fashion always came before comfort.

She had been lost in thought. After finally escaping Young Do's and F4's demanding clutches, she had gone home and had refused to come out. Luckily all the work that needed to be done could be done from home. She had just told her secretary that she still was feeling well and would be working within the comforts of home. He hadn't argued or called her bluff and had just rattled off a bunch of numbers to help with the teleconferences she had lined up.

In those three days, not once had the others called her. They seemed to sense that she needed to be away from them for a little while. Her mind was still a little foggy from being sick and she didn't want to deal with demanding people. No matter how easy going and crazy he was, Woo Bin was demanding as a business partner. Sometimes she wanted to hit him and get it over with.

She wondered how she was going to keep the company afloat. Stocks had taken a plunge and she wasn't sure how to get it back up. There were some rumblings through the secretarial pool that some of the board members and stockholders were going to hold a meeting to get her fired. The only issue with that was it was written into the draft of Dong Uk's succession paperwork that anyone he chose couldn't be ousted by majority vote. The person had to commit an illegal crime to be considered inept. Jimin had only fired people who had been holding the company back.

If she couldn't get a handle on the mutterings, she was going to be forced to play hardball. Temperamentally she wasn't a bad person. A little reserved around people, but she could have fun if she wanted depending on who she was with. But there was a big difference in being reserved in personal matters and reserved in business. There was no wiggle room in business. You couldn't accept bribes and expect not to get caught. She was going to do away with all of that, but first she had to fight the bigwigs who were determined to keep it going.

But that could wait until she got back into the office. Right now she had to make it seem like she was interested in what Tan was saying. That was easier said than done. Tan's relationship with Eun Sang was boring to her. She didn't care that he was dating or what they did on their dates. She didn't care that they were so madly in love that they had defied everyone and kept their relationship. Everyone was doing that these days.

She could tell Tan was monitoring her closely so she looked at him. He tilted his head slightly as he tried to understand what she was thinking. She knew her face was void of any emotions. It had to be because her resting face always looked like she was out of it.

"Were you even listening to me?" he asked. She licked her lips and stared at him. "I'll take that as a no." He sighed and leaned back in his seat. "How do you expect to keep anyone's attention if you zone out like that? Men don't particularly like it."

"I don't care what men think. I'm not trying to impress them," she answered. "As far as I'm concerned I don't need a man anyway. I'm completely happy on my own."

He gave her a droll stare. "Are you trying to give me that? It seriously won't work. I'm a young man. I know how young women think?"

Her eyebrows shot up as she picked up her drink and put the straw in her mouth. "You better watch what you say. Someone may clock you across the head." A fist crashed down across the crown of his head. Tan went forward, hands instinctively grabbing the sore spot. "See?"

Kim Won sat beside his brother. "Are you doing unnecessary things again?"

Tan sputtered a little as he held his head. "No, I'm just asking questions."

"Unnecessary questions it seems."

Jimin listened to their fight with a mixture of amusement and reservation. The Won she knew had never really interacted with his brother. To see them actually getting along was a bit refreshing. Won had never really mentioned his brother when they had been in high school. Now they seemed to have a normal relationship to every other brothers she knew.

Once again, her attention as drawn away from the conversation at hand and to something away from everyone. The outside world was much more inviting than the atmosphere she was currently in. It didn't matter what they talked about; she didn't really care.

"Jiminie." Won smacked the table to get her attention. She looked at him. "You really should pay attention. People are going to get the wrong idea about you."

Tan nearly choked as his perked up. "That's what I was saying! She wasn't listening to me. Noona has a bad habit of doing that."

"Excuse me for not caring about your bickering," she said as she crossed her arms and leaned back in the booth. "It's boring."

"Says the one without any siblings."

Won elbowed Tan for the remark as Jimin licked her lips and looked out the window again. That had always been a sore spot. Her parents had tried to have another child, but it had never worked out. Her dad had always wanted a son to keep the family name, but it had never happened. That didn't mean he hadn't been proud of her. He had been. She had far surpassed his expectations by a million. He had been happy being a police detective, but he wanted his child to be something better.

When she had unintentionally befriended Won, she had instinctively called him Oppa. He hadn't seemed to mind and even relished it when the hassles of high school had become too much. For a year they had been glued to the hip in school and sometimes out of it as well. Then she had moved.

"Jimin." Won's voice was gentle, just like it had been the day the girls had attacked her for being his friend. She met his gaze. "Don't listen to him. He essentially grew up without a brother too. This is new to us."

She smiled, but she knew it was forced since she didn't show her teeth. "It's fine. I have to go. I'm meeting someone in twenty minutes so I need to get going."

She was up and out of the café before they could think of anything to say.

Jimin had a heavy heart as she walked away from the cafe. She hated lying to Won but she couldn't tell him that she was envious of his little brother, whom he had ignored for years. Won had the thing she never would- a younger sibling. She never had a choice whether to love him or her. They were so lucky to have each other even if they hadn't started off in a good note.

Wiping at the sudden tears that threatened to fall, she turned away from the cafe and headed to the one place no one would know her innermost thoughts.

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Young Do had no idea where to search for Jimin. She hadn't been in the office for a few days and no one had seen her. Woo Bin and Yi Jeong were at a loss as to where she was. He had known she wouldn't look for them because they had upset her. She wasn't the type of person to seek out those who hurt her.

He had called Kim Won to see if he had seen her. The man had but unfortunately he had lost her just as he had sat down with her. He hadn't heard from her since either. He'd said he had tried to call her but her phone went straight to voicemail.

Jimin didn't have any particular places she frequented when she was upset. She either closed herself off in her room or she walked around like she wasn't in pain. Not many could tell her upset face from her contented one she had that good of a poker face. It was like pulling teeth trying to get her to talk. She was so stubborn he wanted to knock some sense into her.

Knock.

Getting a surge of inspiration, Young Do wheeled around and took off in the opposite direction of where he had been headed. There was only one place where it was legal to knock someone down. It was the one place no one cared what was going on in a person's daily life. Anyone could use the time to get rid of any frustration.

He shoved the lobby doors open and stalked straight to the dojo. He tossed the doors open just in time to watch Jimin flip twice then bring down a roundhouse kick at the sandbag. Drenched in sweat and dressed casually, she looked like she'd been there a while. Her cheeks were red with heat and her clothes clung to her as moisture dripped onto the floor.

The dojo was her sanctuary. She could work off any stresses her day brought her. She had always said the sweat and tears had always made her feel like she was a normal person. He hadn't understood what that had meant until now. As he stood there and watched her suffer alone, he realized just how much of a burden he carried.

Without thinking, he strode across the mat. She heard his shoes squeak on the vinyl and looked up. He didn't give her time to ask him questions because he pulled her into his arms and held her. He wasn't surprised when she didn't argue, but what did get him was she wrapped her arms around him and held on.

Jimin wasn't a very emotional person. She didn't show how to express what she was feeling. Most of the time she used the judo mat to work out those emotions that she couldn't voice. He had seen her working and sweating until she had collapsed. She had a hard time connecting with people and it made hard to talk.

She pulled away from him after a few moments and wiped at her face. Young Do stepped off the mat and sat against the wall. He watched as she worked out a little more. He could tell she had really kept the routine up because her muscles were still well-defined. He wondered if she still competed, but that thought was dashed because he knew she had worked at Zeus Hotel for at least a year, maybe more.

He watched as she twisted her body through the air, landed and rolled right into another move. Her form was still impeccable as she slid through a workout. He hadn't seen this side of her in quite a while. If she had a partner, she would have pinned his shoulders on the ground.

After half an hour had passed, she stopped and stood still in the middle of the mat. Once again there was nothing he could do. Jimin would share what was on her mind if she felt like it, but that time was not right then. Even if she wasn't near him, her body language told him she was closed off from him.

He waited as she did her post workout stretches then gathered her stuff. She looked at him as she slung her bag over her shoulder and started for the door. She knew he was going to follow her. She always knew what he was going to do before he did it.

He trailed behind her as they walked down the sidewalk, a habit he had found she reverted to when she was deep in thought. He thought she looked amazing as she walked down the street with a duffle bag and a judo outfit. Every man with a brain turned and watched her walk away, even with Young Do following close behind.

"Noona!" ]

Both their heads turned when a voice rang out over the noisiness of the street during rush hour. Kim Tan and another guy ran over just as Young Do slid up behind her.

"His name is Lee Hyo Shin. He was our senior in school and has just returned from the army. His father is the attorney general, and his parents wanted him to go to law school, but he joined the army instead as an act of defiance," he whispered in her ear so the two men coming towards them wouldn't hear.

Jimin didn't show any signs of acknowledgement as they waited for the two men to come to them. Tan's face was bright with excitement as his friend was a little wary about the person he was about to meet. It was obvious he was curious as to why Young Do was with her. She scuffed her tennis shoe on the ground in slight annoyance at the sudden situation.

"Noona, why did you leave this morning? I thought we were having a decent time," Tan said. His face had taken on a wounded puppy look.

Jimin swallowed then ran her tongue over the roof of her mouth as she tried to find the right words that wouldn't hurt the kid's feelings. When none came, she said, "I don't find you drooling over your girlfriend very entertaining, Tan. Next time you want to meet me for breakfast or coffee, pick a different spot or I won't come."

Young Do ran his hand under his nose as he tried to keep from laughing out loud. Snarky Jimin was at the forefront. She usually pulled her punches verbally and physically but she didn't seem to be too obliging today. Tan looked like he'd been shot, and only certain people could make him feel that way. Jimin was one of them because she had been to his house on many an occasion when she had gone to high school with Won. He, like Young Do, had gotten close to her quickly.

She scratched her neck in agitation. "Is there something you needed or do you just like blocking my way?"

Tan, completely caught off guard by the tone, stared at her. It was Hyo Shin who finally picked up the slack. "We were meeting the others for dinner and he wondered if you wanted to join us. So we went to the office, but you weren't there. Your secretary told us you might be at the judo dojo. We were just heading there."

Jimin cocked her head to the side as she stared at the eloquent man. Young Do didn't like that look. He had only seen it one other time and that was when she had met his father's vice president. He still hadn't figure out that look but knew he didn't like it.

Hyo Shin smiled warily. "What's your name? I'm sure Young Do has already told you mine."

"I'm Shin Jimin, CEO of Zeus Hotel Company," she said.

His face blanched slightly, and her expression withdrew even more. She took a step, her shoulders pressing into Young Do's chest. "I didn't know you were very familiar with Choi Dong Uk. I just thought he picked a random person."

"I used to babysit Young Do when he was little. I guess he thought I was trustworthy."

Tan made a noise. "Noona is very intelligent and knows how to handle a business. You should do some research about her when she worked for Incheon International Airport. She whipped their butts into shape."

Jimin pressed back into Young Do even more before she sidestepped and started off down the sidewalk. That was an obvious no to the question they had posed earlier. Young Do wanted to follow her, but she wouldn't think too kindly of him doing so. So he watched her disappear into the crowd.

"Is something wrong with her?" Tan asked.

"No, she's just not used to all the attention. Plus you brought someone new with you and she has no interest in getting to know him." Young Do looked at them. "It's harsh, but that's her world. We all just live in it."

"Aren't you going to follow her?" Hyo shin asked.

Young Do shook his head. "No. If I did, it would only result in me tossed over her shoulder. It's best to leave her alone for now. What was the real reason you came for her? I know you don't want to have dinner with her."

Tan smiled cheekily. "Song Woo Bin and So Yi Jeong want to have a dinner with all of us. I thought they just wanted to invite Won and Jimin, but they've invited all of us."

The taller man frowned. What were those two planning? They only did stuff like that when they wanted a reaction to something they deemed important. He wondered what Jimin would think when she found out.


	10. Chapter 10

Author's Note: When I was writing the Eri series, a few of you asked me where I got the emotional aspect to talk about a deaf person. You don't have to be deaf to understand how someone feels when they don't feel emotions or when they have a hard time expressing emotions. Most of my female characters are based off things that I or someone close to me have gone through. I was always taught write what I know, and writing about feeling alone when in crowded room is something I know very well. So sometimes these are just ramblings but most of the time when I write something like this with a lacking character it means I'm going through something similar to my character. In this case it's Jimin.

Sometimes I think we're too scared as human beings to admit that we have issues when it comes to emotions. I know that I feel alone in a crowded room, and I know I have no issues writing about my issues.

Oh, and this story place in December.

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He was right. Jimin wanted to kill Woo Bin as they sat across from them at a restaurant. She was chewing on her lower lip as everyone chatted comfortably. Young Do sat across from her and watched the emotions play across her eyes. She was irritated, annoyed, angry, concerned, and cautious all at the same time. She didn't know what to do because there were so many of them.

Kim Tan and Cha Eun Sang sat beside Yoon Chan Young and Lee Bo Na. Jo Myeong Su was picking on Rachel Lee who was obviously flirting with Yi Jeong. Woo Bin was having a fun conversation with Kim Won and Lee Hyo Shin who sat beside Jimin. Everyone was having a fun time, except Jimin. She looked so closed off from the world that it was amazing she was even paying attention.

She stared out the window like there was nothing better to do. Wedged between Hyo Shin and the wall, she had nowhere to go. She stared out the window to give her something to do in crowd of people she could care less about.

Young Do wondered how long her temper would stay intact. She was kind of notorious for letting that temper out of unsuspecting people. It wasn't often that it happened, but when it did, everyone was shocked. But at the moment that wasn't the case. She was so zoned out that no one seemed to notice but him.

"Hey." Hyo Shin got her attention. She rolled her head to look at him, chin resting on her shoulder attractively. Hyo Shin seemed to realize it as well because he looked shocked. He cleared his throat when she started to glower at him. "Do you like this?" He held up a piece of cheesecake.

"I like the blueberry better," she replied and started to turn away. Hyo Shin turned away for a moment then tapped her shoulder. She looked at him again and the look on her face was priceless. "This is a sampler. It has a little bit of every kind of cheesecake."

Jimin tugged her lower lip between her teeth and fidgeted. This was new. Young Do had never seen her react that way. Usually she was so on point that it made it hard to pull her off guard.

Without a word she turned and climbed over the back of the booth, surprising everyone. Woo Bin and Yi Jeong had never seen her move that quickly, but Won was a little more prepared than everyone else. He spun off the end of the booth and grabbed her arm as she stepped off the booth. Without coats or anything to fend off the chill of the night, they disappeared outside.

The conversation picked back up and Young Do knew that the girls were going to be running their mouths. Jimin couldn't handle social events very well, especially when she was boxed in like she had been just then. Hyo Shin showing interest had surprised her when she had already been annoyed, and that had annoyed her even more. So she had done the only thing she knew how to do. She had escaped.

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"You can't hide out here all night," Won said.

Jimin looked up at him. "I'm so happy you can have fun with all those people. I should have smacked him when he said he wanted to get together for the night."

"They just want you to make friends. You've been alone too long. All you do is sit in that office with no one but your secretary around. Every few hours you go out and meet with people, but you have maybe four friends."

"Has it ever occurred to you that I don't want that many friends? That I'm happy being by myself instead of being in a crowd of people I don't know or like? I'm pretty sure that it hasn't because if it had you wouldn't have forced me to come to this thing."

Won had been the one to tell her that she was expected to be at this dinner. She had flat out refused but he had shown up at the office and dragged her to the dinner. She really hadn't wanted to be there. She hadn't wanted to see the good nature between the kids and Won. She hadn't wanted to see Woo Bin and Yi Jeong because she was still slightly mad at them. Young Do was the only exception. She didn't care if he was there because she could just ignore him.

She twisted her hands together just as a chill went through her. She couldn't stay outside without a coat but if she went inside she was going to snap at Woo Bin. Thinking again, that actually sounded appealing.

Turning around immediately she went inside and strode straight up to their booth. Woo Bin looked like he was going to say something to him, but she cut her eyes at him. She didn't want to deal with him, but if he opened his mouth she was going to lash out. If any of them opened their mouths, it was the end.

She grabbed her coat and tossed it over her shoulder. She dropped some money onto the table and started away. A hand snaked out and caught her wrist. By the look on Won's face she knew it was Tan. Turning her wrist sharply, she broke the contact.

"Don't ever grab me again," she warned before striding out the door. There was no chance of looking back because that would only anger her more.

Woo Bin rubbed his eyes then propped his face in his hand. "Well that was a bust."

"I warned you that she wouldn't be too accepting of it," Won replied. "Jimin has always been very hands off. Cornering her wasn't going to make anything better."

"We were just hoping we could push her in the right direction," Yi Jeong said.

Won looked over his shoulder at the door. "Does that look like the right direction? She's not a doll you can toss around. Even if you try to push her towards Young Do, she's going to fight back and she's going to win. There's nothing you can do about it. You're going too far."

Young Do realized what they were doing about the same time Hyo Shin did. So it seemed their tactic had been to push her towards him but in the process Hyo Shin had taken an interest. The anger that ignited in him was lethal. He couldn't lose another person to his friends. Jimin knew how he was and knew how to calm him on certain things. She had just met Hyo Shin. If they got together simply because they shared cheesecake, he was going to be livid.

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Later that evening, Hyo Shin was walking up to his apartment. He was still thinking about a few hours before. The dinner had been a ploy to fix Jimin and Young Do. Her reaction had been far worse than his. He wasn't sure if she knew what her friends had been trying to do or that Kim Won had defended her, but he knew the thought about her being with Young Do hurt. He didn't know why because he had literally just met her.

The dinner had concluded a little bit after she had left, but no one had gone home. The couples ended up going their separate ways and the three older men went another direction while bickering. Young Do had looked at Hyo Shin and nodded. They both knew what it meant to like the same girl. Hyo Shin had seen what had happened in high school when Kim Tan and Young Do had fought over Cha Eun Sang. If the guy had to go through it again, he was probably going to have a fit.

But Hyo Shin couldn't help it. There was something about the woman that was severely appealing. It could be the way she ignored everyone around her. He didn't think she meant to, but her personality was such that if she was bored she zoned out. It didn't matter who she was around. If things were uninteresting, she wasn't going to pay a lick of attention.

He wondered how she ran Zeus Hotel Company. It couldn't be easy because she had to deal with so many different people on a daily basis. She wasn't serious about everything. She couldn't be hanging out with Woo Bin and Yi Jeong, but there was this sense of detachment from her even with them.

He was about to punch in the code to his house when the elevator dinged. Jimin stepped off with a plastic bag. She looked up and saw him, but no emotion registered at the sight. Hyo Shin felt a little annoyed that she didn't have anything to say to him, but then again they had just met.

She was about to walk past him, but he took a chance and caught her elbow. She spun around, and he realized that she could easily break out of his grip if she wanted to. The tendons and muscles in her arms were corded and taut as she readied to break away from him. He dropped his hand immediately.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I didn't know your friends were trying to fix you up," he said.

It took a moment, but it seemed that a light bulb just flashed on. She looked him. "I didn't either, but thanks for the heads up." He wanted to kick himself for that. "You should come in and see what real cheesecake tastes like."

That caught him off guard. Hyo Shin looked up and stared at her. She stared back nonchalantly, like it hadn't mattered that she had just invited him into her house.

Jimin watched him think it over and felt annoyed. Turning, she punched in the code to her apartment and went in. When she didn't hear the door beep behind her, she turned. Hyo Shin stood behind her with a smile. Laughing inwardly, she motioned him in then continued kicking off her shoes.

She moved into her house and went straight to the kitchen. She heard Hyo Shin right behind. He was looking around at the place she called home. It was smaller than he thought she should be living, but she didn't care. She didn't want a big house anyway. It would mean she had settled instead of being truly happy.

"Where is this real cheesecake?" he asked as he took a seat on the island.

"One of Woo Bin Oppa's friends is a patissier. He makes all sorts of desserts and breads and what not. He sent a cheesecake to me because my birthday was last week," she replied.

Hyo Shin's mouth dropped open. "Your birthday was last week? How old are you?"

"I'm thirty-one. I'm a year younger than Oppa, ten months younger than Woo Bin Oppa, and three months younger than Yi Jeong Oppa. Woo Bin's wife and I have the same birthday, but she's a year old."

"Did you do anything to celebrate?"

She shook her head. "Not with anyone else. I went to a movie by myself like I always do on my birthday. My mom called me, but I didn't go out with anyone."

"That seems like a waste."

She shrugged as she cut a piece of cheesecake. "Not really. I don't have many friends and I don't care to have many."

Hyo Shin was dumbfounded at the response. "What about a boyfriend? You have to have one of them."

Again she shook her head. "I work too much and everyone is intimidated by a successful woman. Plus I don't have time for bull and I don't tolerate lying very well."

"Is there anyone you're interested in?" She shook her head to that too, and he was stumped. "Forgive me for asking this, but are you interested in women?"

That elicited a response. She laughed and dropped her forehead to her fist that was holding the fork. Her shoulders shook and he could see the defined muscle underneath the fabric of her shirt.

When she sobered, she pierced the cake. "I have never been asked that question before. Everyone just assumes I'm too stuck up."

"Well assuming only gets you one of two places. Either you're right and that earns you nothing, or you're wrong and you get jailed for sexual harassment or you're knocked out." He finally took a bit of cheesecake and the flavor hit him hard. "Who made this?"

"His name is Kim Junho. He owns his own bakery and everything."

"Tell him he's my hero."

They ate in silence for a few minutes before the conversation gradually picked up. Hyo Shin found out that Jimin was highly intelligent. She could keep pace with him in a conversation.

They didn't just talk about business and politics, but sports and entertainment came up as well. He found out she was a national competitor, ranking third in judo. No woman had ranked that high ever. She was something of an inspirational person in the eyes of women. Her name was all over sports channels and now business channels. He remembered his father talking about her when she had won the gold against all the women in her division and came in third during the men's division. He had said she would be an excellent wife. How his dad would be completely surprised to know he was sitting here with her.

They moved further into the house, settling on the couch. Jimin hit play on her remote and Bangtan Boys filtered through the room. He looked through her playlist on her tablet.

"Why aren't there any girl groups?" he asked.

"I don't particularly like them because I can't look at them. They're not as appealing as guy groups. Give me Super Junior or 2PM and I'm set," she answered.

"You are a typical woman."

"What did you expect? A terminator?"

He laughed at her pop culture reference. "Do you always talk in references?"

"I do with Oppa. He hates it, so I do it. He understands them all though because I made him watch all the movies with me when we were in high school. He hated that I was a first year when he was a third year. It kind of cramped his style I guess, but no one would hang out with him because he looked like he had sat on a metal rod."

"I thought you were a year younger than him?"

"I am, but I'm two years younger than him in school. I don't know why, and my parents never explained. I just know that I was the oldest in my class because of it."

"And let me guess. You were the top of your class too." She smiled but didn't show her teeth. "How does a smart woman like you end up alone?"

"Emotional detachment. The only people I am emotionally attached two are F3 and Oppa. If I don't talk to you, I'm emotionally detached from you. I don't care about what you say or feel. None of it matters to me."

He stared at her for a moment. It really didn't make sense. "You're serious." She leaned back into the corner of the couch and tilted her head back slightly. "How can you live like that? Isn't it boring?"

She raised her shoulders slightly. "Not really. I have Woo Bin Oppa I can make fun of at any given day. That's enough entertainment for me. We went to college together so I have plenty of stories."

"You're a little on the mean side aren't you?" She raised her thumb and pointer finger to show they were only inches apart.

They sat and talked like that for hours. Hyo Shin really wasn't sure how long it lasted because it was such an easy moment compared to earlier. Jimin wasn't lively, but she was actively participating in the conversation. He figured that she couldn't be in a large group of people even if she knew most of them. She had to have one on one contact for anything to be meaningful. If it was any way else, she shut down and ignored everyone.

The most interesting thing happened though. Jimin fell asleep in the middle of the conversation. She was talking one minute and then the next she was out. Hyo Shin rooted around until he found a blanket in the hall closet. Carefully so not to wake her up, he draped it across her and watched her for a moment. If she was beautiful awake, she was breathtaking asleep. One hand was fisted by her face and the other was tucked under her chin. She clutched the blanket covering and buried her nose in the fabric. She reminded him of a child finally settled for the night.

Quietly he got up and headed for the door. Grabbing his shoes, he cast one last look at the couch and woman occupying it before he slipped out the front door and closed it gently behind him.


	11. Chapter 11

Author's Note: My dad and I were at work and my sister called me. A couple of our dogs killed another one of our dogs. So I'm kind of in a mood right now. This chapter will be a little on the sad side. I hadn't planned for it to take a turn like this but my stories are influenced by my real-life experiences.

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Jimin sat in a meeting and was actually paying attention to what was being said. She hadn't done that in a long while, preferring to read the minutes on the secretary's notes and find out what had been discussed.

The plans for the new hotel in China were well-underway. Woo Bin had gotten his guys flown in safely. All the materials and blueprints had gone ahead of them. They had met for the first time while on the plane and had discussed how they would go about working together. One of the men had sent back that Moon Bae and Hwang Jo Min were already fighting each other on the best possible way to build the hotel. One of them said up.

Woo Bin and Yi Jeong had been smart. They had left her alone for the last two weeks after their failed attempt at setting someone up. She still wanted to hit them but left it to their wives whom she had told. She didn't know what Eri had done, but Ga Eul hadn't been too happy that her husband had jumped stupid. When he had found out about it, Ji Hoo had simply laughed at their stupidity.

Jimin had been calm the last couple of weeks. Between working out and going to work, she had been completely at ease. Her work had increased tenfold since she had been working out again. She had enough energy to deal with the stupid people at work. Then she would go work out and go home. It was a perfect system and she was getting really used to it.

The meeting ended and she caught her secretary on the way to her office. They talked quickly about the next session of meetings the next day before she disappeared into her office. She was due at the prison the day after tomorrow to give an update to Dong Uk. They had decided to keep in contact in case she needed help. Luckily so far she hadn't, but the members of the board who were about to start a riot were people he had known for years and she wanted to get his opinion.

After briefly checking her calendar to make sure nothing was scheduled for early evening or dinner, she grabbed her coat and shut off her light. Calling that she was gone for the day, she hit the button to take the elevator down.

Downstairs and outside, Young Do swung his leg off his motorcycle and tossed the keys to the valet. He was heading home for the night so he could study for his midterm the next day. It was almost time for Christmas and everyone was getting to spend the holidays with their families. It would be the second year Young Do had spent without his father, even though they hadn't really done anything all that special.

But this year was different. He and his mother had made plans to actually go away for the holidays. They had planned to go to Jeju for a week, but he had wanted to officially extend the invitation to Jimin and see if she wanted to go with them. He hadn't been able to get in contact with her the last couple of weeks. She hadn't answered her phone or any of the emails he had sent her.

He was headed to the elevator when he stopped dead in his tracks. Hyo Shin was standing by one of the elevators leaned up against a chair. He checked his watch quickly then looked up when the elevator doors opened. Jimin came out and strode straight up to the waiting man. Hyo Shin was obviously happy because he stood and they started talking immediately. They didn't even glace in his direction as they walked towards the exit.

There was nothing Young Do could do but watch as the car they were in took off. Had he waited too long to tell her how he felt? Had Hyo Shin found the perfect way to sweep her off her feet? Those two questions ran around his head for a long while until he finally got enough courage to go upstairs and tell his mother that Jimin wasn't going on their trip with them.

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Namsan Tower at dark was wonderful to at least take someone for their first date. Hyo Shin had been excited when Jimin had agreed to go out on one date with him. They had spent the last couple of weeks talking every night in one of their houses. Jimin always brought sweets and he had quickly become accustomed to her friend of a friend's baking.

He had finally gotten up the courage to ask her if she would be interested in going out with him once a few nights ago. Even though they had spent every night together, he was still certain she wasn't completely sold on him. Every now and again he caught her zoning out while he spoke. The only way for her to be truly comfortable with him was to go out on the town with him.

So he had asked what she liked or wanted to do. She had said she had never been to Namsan Tower ever. That included alone or with a boyfriend. So he had made plans to go up Namsan on the cable car. Obviously he hadn't told her what he was planning because he was certain she would tell him not to do it, but he woudlnt listen to her even if she did.

They had set the time and place, and he'd felt a little wary about picking her up at the company. But there had been a meeting she hadn't been able to get out of early in the afternoon so they had planned to meet early that evening. He had been waiting when she had come down the elevator. Typical Jimin, she was dressed in jeans and a tight wintry sweater. He had noticed she rarely wore anything that showed any skin.

The ride to Namsan Tower had been slow because traffic had picked up. Everyone was doing last minute shopping for the holidays so they had to drive to get what they want. That had been fine with Hyo Shin. He and Jimin had sat in the back and played Kai-Bai-Bo for most of the trip. There had been no reason for it other than the fact that they had been bored.

When the car had pulled up to Mt. Namsan, Jimin had stared at him. He had smiled at her and helped her out of the car. She had stared up at the tower. That had been the exact moment she had told him she was afraid of heights. He couldn't have helped the laugh that bubbled out even he'd tried. That had been the price he had paid for assuming something.

Either way she had sucked it up and had gone on the cable car with him. She had stood so close to him it was almost impossible to tell where he ended and she begun. The car had rocked and she had grabbed his hand in a death grip and had pressed her face into his shoulder. She hadn't been kidding. She really was afraid of heights. Being the knight in shining armor, he had held her hand until the car arrived safely at the unloading dock.

Still slightly shaken, she had followed him out onto the observation deck. Within a minute, that lower lip had been sucked into her mouth. She had let go of his hand and gone over to the glass. He hadn't known if it was her excited nature that was coming out or if she had wanted to see how high up they had been.

His breath had been snatched at him when she had turned to him with this unadulterated smile. He hadn't seen that before. In the fourteen nights they had stayed up late talking and cutting up, not once had he seen this look. And the instant he saw it, he had wondered how many other men had seen this truly happy, completely at ease side of her.

He had slid up behind her but had touched her. She had started rambling some random history that he hadn't paid enough attention to in class to remember. He had followed her finger as she pointed out random places and neighborhoods. She had known so much that he had been amazed her brain hadn't exploded with all of it.

After an hour of watching nothing but scenery, he had suggested going downstairs and getting something to eat. But Jimin had had a different idea. She hadn't wanted to have a normal dinner. She had wanted to wander around and try all sorts of vendor foods. When she had looked at him like that, he hadn't been able to deny her. Once again he had held her hand as they had left the tower.

True to her word, she had tried every vendor she deemed worthy. They had a bowl of tteokbokki and a chocolate cookie. They had their own drinks from another stand then bought a couple of other things. Jimin had been really entertaining as she had ate everything, her expresses showing everything she had been feeling. It had been an interesting experience.

They were now sitting in a café bakery Jimin knew. They had been in the vicinity and instead of driving across town they had just stopped in. Hyo Shin knew she had been there a few times before because she had walked right in and to the left, claiming a seat by the window (she really liked windows).

She didn't too calm and he wanted to chalk it up to the fact that she hadn't brought anyone here before, but the staring off into space was a clear sign it wasn't.

A handsome young man walked over in a stylish navy blue apron. He had a smile that would be considered a lady killer if he hadn't been going up against Jimin. But they seemed to know each other.

"Noona, it's been a while," he said. Everyone seemed to call her that if they knew her, and it irritated Hyo Shin.

Jimin smiled but it didn't reach her eyes. She wasn't interested in this guy in any way. "Donghyun, where's Junho?"

The young man turned around, his blond hair swaying in the process. "He's in the kitchen. Why?"

"Here's what youre going to do, and you better do it or I will give the photos of you at the karaoke bar when you were supposed to be studying. Remember? You were sloppy drunk."

Donghyun saluted. "What can I get you?"

"My usual."

He wrote it down and turned to Hyo Shin. "What would you like?"

Hyo Shin instinctively turned to Jimin. She didn't waste any time. "Americano and a piece of red velvet. But here's your job. Bring it to us but after a minute or so go into the kitchen and tell Junho that you have a couple of irate customers. That's one thing he hates. He'll come out here. If that doesn't work, tell him his ex-girlfriend is here and she has some news for him. That will scare him."

Donghyun went to fulfill their order and Hyo Shin turned to Jimin. She was watching the counter and kitchen area intently. It was the most focused he had ever seen her. The tip of her tongue stuck out of her mouth. She was essentially glaring at the counter.

"You look like you're about to pounce," he laughed just as Donghyun brought their order over. He pointed at the pie in front of her. "What is that?"

"It's key lime. I was in America for two months and had this every night for dessert. I'm addicted to it, and Junho makes the best in Seoul." She took his fork from him and slid it through the pie. "Try it."

He slid the fork in his mouth and a sweet tang hit him. He didn't understand it at first but it gradually grew on him. He didn't want any more so he tucked himself into his red velvet cake.

His attention was drawn to the kitchen when Donghyun disappeared just inside the door. Jimin's knee bounced beneath the table as she waited for this person named Junho to come out of the kitchen.

They didn't have to wait long. A blue haired guy came out and tossed his apron on the counter and came towards them. The instant he saw them he threw his hands up and kept on going. He towered over Jimin who didn't seem to notice his presence at all.

"I told you about that photo. And my ex-girlfriend and I never had sex so that argument was invalid," he argued.

"Are you saying you're impotent?" Hyo Shin nearly spat everything onto the table.

Junho huffed and put his hands on his hips. "Is there a reason you're here? I do have work to do. This is the busiest time of the year for me."

Jimin pointed at Hyo Shin who was enjoying his cake. "He likes your cheesecake. We were out with Oppa and he tried to get me to eat blueberry cheesecake what wasn't yours."

"Now that's just sacrilege. How could you do that?"

Hyo Shin had to defend himself. "She was staring out the window and ignoring everyone."

Junho waved a hand in front of his face. "She's always like that. Next time ask if there's one she prefers. She doesn't do too well with being told what to eat."

"No," Jimin argued, "that's Junsu who doesn't like being told what to eat. You should know that considering he's your twin."

He brushed her aside and looked at Hyo Shin. "Why are you here?"

Hyo Shin looked at Jimin. "We're celebrating someone's birthday late."

Junho looked at Jimin. "You finally told someone other than the rest of us when your birthday is?"

She shook her head. "No, I didn't even tell you my birthday before. Oppa took care of that for me. I never asked for you to know my birthday. I don't really care about my birthday to begin with. You're the ones who made a big deal out of it. I don't tell people because I don't want to make a big deal out of it and I just don't care about the normal birthday shenanigans you want to do."

Hyo Shin noticed she was slowly slipping back into detachment. The more they talked about her, the more she pulled away. He had made headway by bringing her out and he didn't want all of that effort to go to waste.

"So she doesn't like her birthday. Why did you make her a cheesecake?"

"We all gave her something. She should be happy we didn't have a party and invite you all."

"Woo Bin did that too."

"I'm surprised you haven't punched him."

"He's as equally skilled at judo as I am. It would be hard to get a punch in."

They finished up their quirky conversation and Junho disappeared into the kitchen again. Slowly Jimin returned to the way she had been before they had gotten on the topic of her birthday. They paid their bill and were pleasantly surprised to find an extra box waiting on them at the counter. Jimin frowned at Junho through the window before taking her box and leaving.

"You seemed closer to him than I thought," Hyo Shin said.

Jimin nodded as they walked towards their building. "Junho is older by eight or nine minutes. He's completely different from his twin. He makes it easier to get along with him. Min Ho and Junsu are almost completely alike so when they're together it's kind of nerve wracking."

She slid back into silence as they walked into the lobby of their building and to the elevator. She seemed to be in deep thought. He hated when she did that because he never knew what she was thinking or if she was thinking.

They stopped on their floor and stepped off. Jimin barely waited for him. He found it funny because she was so used to taking the lead and not caring what anyone else said. She seemed to make a conscious effort to stick with him but it did seem she was making an effort.

"Ugh, I have to get up and go back to work in the morning," she groaned as she stared at her door.

"You don't have to go. You can always play hooky," he offered.

"I can't do that. I was sick three weeks ago and missed three days. Now that the construction is underway I have to be ready at any moment. This is the life of a CEO. Sometimes I wonder how Dong Uk did it, then I remember he's in jail."

Hyo Shin laughed at the slight sigh that followed. "Well, then you better go to bed. We don't want to mess with any of that."

Jimin said goodbye and unlocked her door. Her phone buzzed just as she stepped inside. She pulled it from her pocket and checked her messages. There was one from Young Do.

 _/Why are you with Lee Hyo Shin?/_

How had he known that? But most importantly why did he care? He wasn't dating her so she didn't have to answer it.

It was the second message that had her flying out the front door and to Hyo Shin's place. Once she explained, he didn't argue. He stepped inside to grab his keys before they headed back out the way they came.


	12. Chapter 12

Author's Note: My dog that we just lost was only a year old. He would have been two next month. My mom is still in shock from it, but I would be too. So this chapter is about those emotions.

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"Noona?"

Jimin opened her eyes and looked around. This wasn't her house. Oh. Right. She wasn't at home.

Lifting her head she looked up. She had been sleeping on Hyo Shin. He didn't seem to mind as he adjusted the blanket over them. He leaned over and grabbed something. He handed her a cup with a straw. Nodding her thanks she took a sip. Cola rushed down the back of her throat.

"How long have I been asleep?" She asked then cringed. Her voice was raspy.

"A couple of hours. The doctors came in to talk to you but left you alone when they saw you. You should go talk to them," he said. He ran his hand through her hair. "Go on. I'll stay right here."

Jimin stood and slipped her shoes on. She slid the door open and stepped out into the brightly lit hospital hallway. A nurse inclined her head as she passed by.

Jimin took a left and came to the nurses station. Two familiar faces greeted her before she even stood up. God had been watching over them when her mother had moved to Seoul and checked herself in to the same hospital that Yoon Ji Hoo and Geum Jan Di worked. She knew they would take good care of her.

Ji Hoo looked up and his mouth slipped into a deep frown. She knew what she looked like. It was the same thing she had gone through when her father had had a heart attack a year ago. She knew it wasn't going to be easy hearing his news but it was ether than not knowing. With confidence she didn't trust, she walked up to the counter.

Ji Hoo spoke quickly. Her mother had stage four pancreatic cancer and there was nothing they could do. It had already metastasized to her liver and kidneys and they were shutting down. Jimin had already known her mother had been sick and going downhill fast. It had been just a matter of time.

"There's already limited brain activity," Ji Hoo explained.

Like she always did when she was processing something, Jimin licked her lips. "What do you suggest?"

That wasn't the answer the two doctors were hoping for. Thy looked between each other and had a silent conversation that was easily readable. There was no need to be too emotional because it wasn't going to solve anything. Screaming and crying and cursing weren't going to stop the inevitable. She had learned that long ago.

"I would only leave her on the breathing machine for two more days. If there isn't any more brain activity, I would cut it off," Ji Hoo finally said. "Her kidneys and liver are shutting down and soon her heart and lungs will as well. There's really no need to delay the end."

Jimin ran her hand through her hair. "I know." Blowing air out quickly, she nodded. "All right. Go ahead. If there's no reaction after two days, pull the cord. There's really no point in her suffering any more than she already is."

She left them staring after her. Not many children would be able to kill their parents, but Jimin had seen what a breathing tube had done to her father after his massive heart attack. Her mother hadn't wanted to let him go, but he had had been suffering. There was no reason for him to be on a breathing machine when there hadn't been any bodily functions. He wasn't even going to the bathroom anymore. They had taken the catheter out because of it.

They had had a huge fight because of it. Jimin had seen the suffering man and her mother had seen the suffering spouse. Torn between making sure her mother talked to her and making sure her father went peacefully, Jimin had watched as the man who had taken excellent care of her withered away. Somehow she had wrested power of attorney from her mother and put an end to her father's suffering.

Hyo Shin looked up as Jimin came back in the room. She looked torn and ragged, something he hadn't seen from her. He hadn't known her very long but he did know that the look on her face was something completely different.

She sat down and stared straight ahead. There was nothing he could say. He had never been in this situation and the army hadn't taught him anything on how to deal with a sick parent. He knew how to shoot and throw grenades but never how to deal with a parent in the hospital.

He was still shocked that she had asked him to go to the hospital with her. It could have been because they had been out and about when the text came in, but he really didn't know. After finding out what was going on, she had just fallen asleep out of pure exhaustion.

He gently took her face in his hands and forced her to look at him. It was far more than tiredness that radiated from her. She was thinking hard about something. He wasn't privy to those thoughts just yet. She didn't trust him enough.

"We're giving it two more days. If she's not responding by then, we're going to pull the plug. That means once she dies, I won't have any parents. My dad died last year and I don't have any siblings," she said.

What was worse was no tears fell down her face. He didn't know if she was in shock or what, but the blank expression aimed at his shoulder told him that she was trying to decide that for herself.

He pulled her into his shoulder and held her as he fought back his own tears. He knew what it meant to decide to give up on someone. He had given up on himself and had tried to end it all. Kim Tan had lived overseas for three years and he went to see him one time.

That was when he had tried to commit suicide by taking sleeping pills. His reasons had been completely different than hers, but he had to make the decision. Luckily for him, his family and friends, he hadn't died. He had been spared, maybe just for this moment. He didn't know.

"You can't stay here any longer," he said. "You've made the decision. Now you have to live with it."

"I know. I thought maybe she might be awake if I showed up. Now I know I was wasting my time."

He sat back and held her right under the ear. "It's not wasting your time if you thought it might help. You're her daughter. You're expected to have some hope that your presence would help."

Jimin nodded and looked back at her mother. "Should I go on with business like usual? Or should I take the next couple of days off to get things in order? Once they take her off the ventilator, it won't take long for her to take her final breath. They'll take her away immediately to prepare for the funeral."

"You do whatever you have to do. If you want to take a day off and prepare, go ahead. You can do just about anything you need to do. No one will bother you. And if they do, lash out at them. They'll leave you alone then."

She smiled at him but it didn't reach her eyes. He stood and put on his coat. Holding out his hand, he waited for her to put her coat on. The she took his hand. He nodded at Ji Hoo as they walked towards the elevator. Jimin pressed the down button and leaned her head against the wall as she waited.

They were quiet as they headed home. There wasn't much to say considering the situation. Jimin gnawed on her lip the entire time. Hyo Shin didn't know what she was thinking yet again.

Suddenly she leaned forward and told the driver a different location. He didn't know where she had mentioned. She picked at the ends of her coat as she stared out the window. Life outside was much more interesting than what they were living.

The car pulled up to nondescript building with no name or mailbox out front. Jimin paid the driver then slipped out the traffic side of the car. She pulled a set of keys out of her pocket and walked straight up to the door. Hyo Shin followed and watched as she turned on the lights to an immaculate dojo. No one would be there at the late hour which was probably why she chose it.

"Stay here," she ordered as she kicked her shoes off and walked across the blue mat in the center of the floor.

Hyo Shin now understood where all the power and endurance came. She worked out here and had enough energy to make it through whatever was hounding her. He sat against the wall and waited for her to emerge.

(*(*(*(*(*(*(*(*(

Young Do walked into the office on the top floor of the hotel. He had texted Jimin the night before and had gotten no response. She hadn't answered him that morning either. He didn't know what was going on, but he did know she had a meeting with his father. He wasn't privy to know what they discussed but he knew she would be there.

The people on staff bowed to him because they knew who he was. He wasn't too concerned with that. He wanted to talk to Jimin. He wanted to find out what was going on and why she wasn't answering his calls or texts.

Her secretary didn't even stop him as he walked straight up to the doors and pushed one open. Jimin was sitting at her desk talking quietly on the phone. She glanced up but looked right back down instantly. Angry that she was ignoring him, Young Do walked over to an empty chair and plopped down.

Her knuckles were busted. He could see the red welts marring the tanned skin. She hadn't used wraps or bandages when she had worked out the day before. They had been taught never to do that because they could easily damage their hands. Obviously Jimin hadn't listened.

She rubbed her forehead with as a tired look as she stared at the planner in front of her. Something was going on and she refused to talk about it. She looked rushed about something. Jimin finally hung up the phone and leaned back in her chair. She was stressed. He could tell by the white knuckles grip she had on the arm of the chair.

"Did you meet with my dad?" He asked.

She nodded, bottom lip getting trapped between her teeth. "Yeah, he seems to be excited to see the changes I've made once he gets out."

He tilted his head slightly as he didn't belief she was telling him everything. If it wasn't pertinent she wouldn't tell him. He would have to force her to talk and that could be bad.

"Why didn't you answer my call or text?" he asked.

Her eyes turned stormy. Something had happened to make her ignore his calls and texts. It was either horrible or supremely personal. Only those reasons would make her angry at him.

"Were you with Hyo Shin all night?"

"Get out." There was heat in her words. She was angry and tired, and that made her crankier than usual.

"I have the right to know who you were with."

She glared at him. "How so?"

Young Do tilted his head to the side with a DUH look. "You really have no idea?"

Her nostrils flared in anger. "Do not start with me about relationships. I'm not in the mood."

That started a fight right there. They were nearly yelling at each other. People out in the lobby could hear them. But Jimin wasn't backing down from him. She firmly believed it was none of his business.

What was worse was they were still seated. If I they had been standing, they would probably have been laughing. This was worse because neither one would move.

The door flew open and Hyo Shin filled the space. Jimin's anger faded as her face visibly whitened. She didn't say anything as she checked her phone. Her chair shot backwards as she stood up and grabbed her things.

Hyo Shin spoke as soon as she walked up to him. "Ji Hoo tried to call you four times."

"I was on the phone. Then he came in. What's going on?" She asked.

Hyo Shin looked at Young Do. "You need to go. Now."

Young Do didn't like the order the older guy was giving. Jimin looked back at him in a brief moment of tortured emotions before turning and walking out the door. Hyo Shin nodded at him then followed her.

The younger man got up and followed them. They knew he was following them but they didn't care. Whatever was going on was far more important than secrecy. They sped through town since traffic was light. Young Do decided it was best to keep his distance just in case he was embarrassed for following them.

The silver car pulled into the parking lot of a hospital. Young Do was shocked but he followed them inside anyway. They rode the elevator together. Jimin was antsy, jumping from foot to foot as they were pulled up.

Jimin was the first off the elevator and was the one to lead the way to the nurse's station. Yoon Ji Hoo was standing behind the desk talking swiftly to a nurse. He looked up when Jimin slammed her hands down on the top of it. He stared at the woman a brief second before pulling her away from them.

Young Do was left with Hyo Shin as the doctor talked to the woman. He wanted to know what was going on between them but knew this was the time to ask. Both of them would just get angry at him, and he didn't think that Jimin could handle being angry and stressed at this particular moment.

He looked over at the woman and doctor. They were having a serious conference. At first glance it didn't seem that Jimin care, but if you lokoed hard enough you could tell her hands were shaking. She kept them in front of her and twisted her fingers together.

As they came back over, Jimin made eye contact with both of them. That cold rage that had been present had been replaced with an unreadable expression. Ji Hoo returned to her side and led her into a room immediately to their left. Hyo Shin allowed Young Do to go first, and the young man instantly understood why they had been in a rush to get here.

He remembered Han Soo Hyun very well. She had been a kind and caring woman when she had worked at Zeus Hotel. She had raised her daughter well even with the emotional deficits she encountered. Her husband and child had been the highlight of her life. Whenever Young Do had come home from school, she had always met him in the hallway right outside his door and had given him some cookies or some treat. It had been the highlight of his day as a kid.

Now the woman he had fondly called ahjumma was lying in a hospital bed with all sorts of tubes and wires coming from her. She looked to be unconscious but he knew better. There was something else wrong with her.

He looked up at Jimin. She was calmly standing by the window as Ji Hoo spoke once again. He was very calm about it all which was good because any other person would be hysterical. He looked at Jimin and after a moment, the woman nodded. Ji Hoo and his nurse flipped off the switches to the various machines and stepped back.

Jimin sat on the bed and watched as the heart rate slowly disappeared. She had known this was going to happen but she had hoped they had had a few more months, maybe a year left. She knew she hadn't been the most responsive child but she had tried her best. She had taken on the full responsibility of paying off her dad's debts after he had passed and now she had this debt to rest on her shoulders.

Finally the monitor beeped solidly. Han Soo Hyun was pronounced dead at 2:45 pm. Jimin slid off the bed and went to stand in the far corner as the morgue staff was called to prepare the deceased for the funeral the next day.

"Noona." Hyo Shin's soft voice pierced the quietness of the room. Jimin looked up at him. "You need to send out the notices. Your uncle will want to know, as well as Kim Won."

Ji Hoo nodded in the other corner. "I'll tell the others so you don't have to make too many phone calls."

Jimin nodded. "Thank you." As the doctor walked past her, she pulled the lower lip in between her teeth. "Hyo Shin, I want to go home."

Young Do's mouth slowly fell open as he realized that not only had she called for Hyo Shin, but he knew where she lived. He didn't even know where she lived. But the tone of voice was what got him first. It wavered as soon as she spoke.

Angered, he stepped in their path as they were heading out of the room. Wary, Jimin looked up at him. She knew his temper very well, but so did Hyo Shin. The older man wasn't going to back down. He had watched him fight way too much in high school that he wasn't going to watch it here.

"If you have something to say, pick a better time to say it because now isn't it. She needs to get ready for the funeral and talking to you like this is not one of the items on the list. Have a modicum of respect and let her get through the next three days before you hassle her about who she's dating," he scolded. Even as he spoke, he held Jimin's hand tightly.

Jimin didn't say anything as raw emotions ran over her face. He had never seen her like that before. Desperate to save whatever was left, Young Do took a step to his right. Hyo Shin took that opportunity to pull Jimin though the door.


	13. Chapter 13

Author's Note: So… I'm kind of at a standstill with this story. I know what I want to happen in this chapter and I have a vague idea of who Jimin will end up with, but the middle sections are kind of iffy. If you have any ideas, let me know. I will see if they work out.

(*)(*)(*)(*(())*()

Jimin wasn't prone to nightmares. She rarely dreamed at all in fact. Most of the time she slept like a log and woke up at the alarm. But that night all normality went out the window.

She woke up drenched in sweat. The room was cool because she had closed the vent to the heating unit. Her pajama shirt clung to her back as if it were trying to protect her from the evils of the night.

She sat up and looked around the room. It was her bedroom. She was safe in the confines of her house but something felt off. She didn't know what had caused the nightmare, but it had been strong enough to pull her from much needed sleep.

Getting out of bed, Jimin forewent slippers and walked into the bathroom. Her face was wet with perspiration and her eyes were blood shot. She pulled her hair into a high bun and ran the water in the sink while staring in the mirror.

Sometimes she cursed her stoicism because most people could feel things deeply. Her parents had called her a Vulcan from _Star Trek_ ; able to feel things deeply but unable to express them to the world. They hadn't meant anything by it considering they all had loved the series, but it was the most accurate thing anyone had said. She felt things on a deeper level but had no way of expressing anything until she got angry. There were only two people she had ever cried in front of, and they were Kim Won and Choi Young Do. Everyone else had called her weird for not feeling anything.

Last year when her father had died, she hadn't been able to express the sorrow and anger she felt. She had sat in the funeral home with her mother as their friends and families had come and expressed their condolences. Tradition stated she was supposed to weep profusely, but no tears had come. To this day she hadn't cried about the passing of her father. She didn't know if it was a character flaw or just something she didn't have.

Washing her face and neck, she started to cool off and to shake. There was no reason for it, but the tremors wouldn't stop. She looked down at her hands and they shook as if she was having a seizure. It was at that moment she knew she couldn't be alone. No, it wasn't couldn't. She shouldn't be alone. Grabbing her phone, she carefully felt her way into the living room and opened the front door.

Hyo Shin was still awake reading when his doorbell rang. He had applied for college a few weeks ago after being discharged from the army and was getting ready to decide what he wanted to do. He wanted to be a broadcaster but wasn't sure if he should go television broadcast or radio. He loved both, but could only choose one.

He had left Jimin's house after she had showered and gotten ready for bed. They had spent a better portion of the afternoon getting the arrangements ready for her mother's funeral the next day. He had been shocked at how calmly she had done everything. She had known exactly what her mother had wanted and had made sure the funeral home had everything ready. He had taken her to eat and they had continued to call people for the funeral the next day. Her uncle was out of the country but would be on the next red eye into Incheon.

After he had dropped her off late that afternoon, she still hadn't said anything to him. He had sat in the living room as she had pulled out the funeral attire she would wear the next day. He figured she had known this would happen at some point and had been prepared for it, but the lack of emotion was kind of disconcerting.

She had ironed out the hanbok and had hung in up in the living room by her bedroom door. Then she had set about making dinner. He had wanted to say something but nothing coherent ever came out of his mouth. It would pop into his brain, but the second he opened his mouth to speak it evaporated into a type of muttering baby language. He had felt horrible for not being able to comfort her.

After a couple of hours he had finally told her she needed to get some sleep because the next day was going to be long. She had nodded and he had waited until she had showered and changed into her pajamas. She hadn't said anything as she had climbed into bed. He had sat on the edge of the bed and had run his hands through her hair to comfort her in some way. She had given him a slight smile just before she had dropped off to sleep. He had waited until her breath had evened out before he had excused himself and had gone home.

Hyo Shin got up when the doorbell rang a second time. Stuffing his feet into his slippers, he flipped on the hall light and went to the front door. After sliding the latch, he opened his front door. Jimin stared up at him with an unreadable expression, but what surprised him the most was that she was shaking. Without a word, he pulled her into the house, making sure he kept his arm securely around her.

Slowly they walked to the living room where he flipped on a lamp. She sat down on his couch and he went to put on the coffee pot and grab a blanket. When he returned, she was curled up in the corner with her arms wrapped around her knees. He draped the blanket around her then went to grab two cups of coffee. He sat down beside her and set her mug on the table.

She didn't say anything at first, but she didn't need to. He knew what had happened. Everything had finally caught up to her and she was in shock. Seeing her father and now her mother die in a hospital had caused her emotions to surface and the only way she would understand them was in the form of a dream. He had been through it after his suicide attempt so he knew the signs.

When she didn't speak for some time, Hyo Shin set his mug on the table and pulled her to him until her head rested on his shoulder. She didn't fight him; instead wrapping her arms around his waist and hanging on for dear life. Her hands shook as they clutched at his shirt.

"Do you need to stay here tonight?" he asked. Her answer had been to pull herself closer.

He needed to adjust himself so they were both comfortable. Pushing her away, he pulled one leg over and edged back to the arm rest. He pulled her to him then unfolded the blanket all the way so he could wrap it around them both. He rested his chin on the top of her head.

"You can stay here as long as you need to," he added. "I'll give you the pass code to my door so you can come and go as you please."

She shook her head. "That won't be necessary. This will pass and I'll be fine."

"Jimin." It was the first time he had used her real name while speaking to her, and it felt weird rolling off his tongue. "You can't be stupid or crazy. You have to know how Young Do and I feel."

She did but she couldn't reciprocate those feelings for either one just yet. She didn't know who she liked, and this wasn't the time to figure it out. She had more important matters to deal with than raging hormones of two twenty-somethings.

Without a word, she started to get up, but Hyo Shin grabbed her wrist. Instinct and training kicked in but she held back the urge to break free and break his wrist. She stared down at him, head tilted slightly to the right as she waited.

"You know how we feel don't you? You know and you're just playing with us. But if you're playing with me, let me know now so I can walk away from this without getting hurt," he said.

"I don't want to hurt anyone, but I don't know how I feel about anyone or if there is anything there," she replied.

He was shocked at how honest she was. Normally she would have shrugged him off and refused to answer his question. He figured the stress of what was going on had gotten to her and her first reaction was honesty.

She twisted her wrist in his hand to test his strength. He created a circle with his fingers and waited for her to pull away. When she didn't, he tugged on her hand. Air exploded from her lungs as she fell forward but caught herself on the arm rest.

Hyo Shin knew there was something there simply by the way her eyes jumped all over his face. No other emotion registered on her face, but those eyes held everything he needed to know.

He reached up and framed her face. The muscles in her jaw worked as her eyes jumped to his. Watching her, he traced his thumb along her lower lip. She tilted her head towards his hand unexpectedly, and he realized she was trying to decipher something. She did little things like that when she couldn't figure things out or they were just beyond her grasp.

"You don't have to leave," he said. Her eyes slightly narrowed. "I'll stay in my room and you can have the couch. I won't bother you. There's no point in forcing you to do anything. I don't want you if you can't come to me voluntarily."

"What if I don't come period?" she asked.

"Then I know Young Do gained a great girl."

He broke contact and stood up. He knew she watched him as he walked into his room for a spare pillow. They made eye contact as he handed her the pillow. His hand brushed hers as he retracted it. She should have asked him to stay, but something kept the words from coming out.

Sitting down, Jimin realized that she had never been in this situation before. She had never had two guys who were close to each other actually arguing over her. It didn't seem possible. And to be honest she had never really been interested in any guys before. The only reason she had dated Woo Bin had been to get him to leave her alone. Even now with him married, he still harassed her on a daily basis. That had been before they had become business partners.

The light in the bedroom went out. Hyo Shin was going to bed. She looked around the living room and decided that she couldn't be there after all. She picked up her phone and dialed a number.

"Hey, what are you doing right now?" she asked into the phone after the pickup. "Can we meet?"

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

Yi Jeong kicked his spinning wheel, enjoying the motion so much more than the electric one. The night was going to be long because he had two unexpected guests sitting atop one of his display tables. Woo Bin was always to be expected because his wife was always in the studio, but Jimin rarely made an appearance here. Seeing her sitting atop the table in her pajamas told him that she was dealing with something deeply.

She had been angry with them for the last few weeks. No phone call or text message was answered unless they called about business. Then even that was short and sweet. She hadn't wanted to talk to them. But that had been before her mother had passed away this afternoon.

When Ji Hoo had called them with the news, they had looked at each other. Yi Jeong had been at Woo Bin's office trying to figure out how they were going to make up with their friend. They had been in deep discussion when Ji Hoo had called. Woo Bin had put him on speaker phone and they had been told Jimin's mother had passed.

Instantly they had remembered last year when her father had passed away after being comatose after a sudden heart attack. It had been hard on her and she hadn't come to work for a few days so to help her mom. She had been the one to do everything after his passing and it had taken a toll on her. She hadn't talked to them about how she had felt, but they had known either way. Now she was dealing with it again.

They had expected to see her the next day at the funeral but she had showed up at the studio after calling Yi Jeong. Now she sat there looking like a lost puppy. They didn't know what had happened between the death and now, but it had caused her to deeply ponder some things.

"Oppa," she finally said as she chewed on a piece of candy. There was always candy in the studio for late night chats like this. Woo Bin and Yi Jeong looked at her. "Was I ever interested in you when we dated?"

Woo Bin made a face then looked at Yi Jeong. They were both slightly shocked at the random question she spurted, but it was the first time she had asked them about anything other than work. And she wasn't threatening to spill one of their secrets.

The older man shook his head. "No, not really. You really only dated me because I wouldn't leave you alone after you dented my hood. I knew you weren't but you were so different than everyone else I couldn't help myself. I think that's what broke us up in the end. Maybe if we had stayed together, we would be married and have four kids. I don't know though."

"Why are you asking all of a sudden?" Yi Jeong asked as he kept the steady flicking of his foot. "Are you interested in someone?"

She shrugged her shoulders as she took another bite of licorice. "I don't know, but both Hyo Shin and Young Do have said they liked me. I don't know what to do."

Woo Bin reached over took a chip from the bowl in her lap. "How do you feel about them?"

She sucked on the piece of candy as she stared down at the floor. "Young Do is abrupt and a little on the crazy side, but he's gently if he knows you. He has a temper that ignites quickly but he's always been like that. Hyo Shin is gentle and kind, but he's troubled. He's patient and reassuring. He was the one who helped me take care of my mother's arrangements."

Yi Jeong and Woo Bin shared a look. Jimin had already made the decision but they weren't sure if she knew she had. It was right there in the way she talked about the two men. They had made lasting impressions on her in such a short amount of time. But if she didn't realize who she liked soon, she could lose both of them.

"Do you need a ride to the funeral home tomorrow?" Woo Bin asked.

Jimin shook her head as she shoved the last bit of candy in her mouth. "No, but I don't know if I'll be able to sleep tomorrow night either."

"You're always welcome at my place," Yi Jeong said. "That is if you don't mind two fussy babies waking up in the middle of the night."

"I don't mind it."

Woo Bin shook her foot then pinched her toe. She kicked him and he nearly fell off the table. "Why were you so mad at us that you wouldn't answer our phone calls?"

She turned a hateful look his way. "Because you two morons think you know what's best for me. First you ban me from going to work by telling Young Do to look me in his house. Then you try to set me up with him. That is cause for anger even if we have known each other for nearly twelve years."

The smile that broke out on Woo Bin's face was way too happy. "And it would have worked too if Lee Hyo Shin hadn't put cheesecake in your face and ran you off."

"It had nothing to do with the cheesecake and you know it," Yi Jeong argued. He threw some wet clay at his best friend when he made a face. It missed him and splattered on the floor behind him. Woo Bin stuck his tongue out in victory only to have Jimin shove some licorice in it. He gagged at the taste. Yi Jeong started laughing. "Serves you right."

He turned his attention to the other perpetrator and smiled. "What time are you getting to the funeral home tomorrow?"

"It starts at eleven so I'll probably be there about eight-thirty. My uncle is the sangju since my mother didn't have a son."

"After the burial, the twins are giving a reception at their bakery. Everyone is welcome to attend if you'd like. There will be coffee and pastries for those who attend." He saw the wavering look on her face and realized she wasn't going to be up for that. She picked at the hem of her shirt as indecision ran across her face. "Jiminie, we don't have to do that if it makes you uncomfortable."

She shook her head. "That's not it. I was calculating how many people were going to be there. We sent out twenty notices the people closest to my parents, like my aunt on my dad's side and my uncle on my mom's. I don't have any grandparents on either side, and my mom had only two friends. Then there are the people I know that are included in those notices. So if they make enough for everyone, tell them to triple the amount just to be safe."

Woo Bin yawned and stretched his six foot frame. "I have to head home. My mom is coming over before the funeral to help Eri with the kids tomorrow."

Jimin stood as well. "I'm going home too."

Yi Jeong stopped his wheel. "Just stay here. We both know you're not going to get any sleep tonight. We'll swing by your house before eight so you can shower and change."

Not really wanting to argue the case, Jimin sat back down as Woo Bin left them in the studio.


	14. Chapter 14

Author's Note: Today at work, all the kids were asking why I like Kpop. The simple answer was it makes me happy. They still didn't understand it and that's okay. But I did nerd out with a couple of them.

(*(*(*(*(*(*(*(*(

Hyo Shin watched Jimin and her uncle at the graveside. He had heard her leave the night before and not return. He had tossed and turned the entire night because he hadn't known where she was. That morning she had returned with Yi Jeong in tow. The older man had told him she had stayed the night at his studio because she hadn't been able to sleep. Hyo Shin hadn't told him that she had started the night at his place because he was certain he would ask questions.

They had ridden together to the hospital where they had met with Jimin's uncle. Han Kyu Min was dressed to officiate his sister's funeral. He had hugged Jimin but hadn't said anything. There were obviously not close. They had greeted everyone like they had been long lost cousins.

But it had been the ceremony itself that had garnered the most attention. Jimin's family was Protestant so they had a pastor there to do the ceremony. Jimin had sat quietly beside her uncle. The two never touched during the whole thing, but it had been easy to tell that her thoughts had been elsewhere.

Woo Bin and Yi Jeong had led the procession to give money to the family. He they had bowed to Jimin and Kyu Min and had placed their envelopes in the box. Jimin hadn't said anything to them then either. She had remained silent throughout the entire funeral and burial.

The graveside service had been just as calm uneventful. They had watched as the casket had been dropped into the ground right beside another gravestone that was still fresh after a year. Jimin stood between them and stared down at the upturned ground. The pastor said whatever words he was supposed to with scripture to go with it.

After the ceremony, most of the family said goodbye and headed off on their own. They had been informed of the reception but had declined. So far it was only Jimin and the friends and coworkers she actually had. She wasn't going to be too happy but it was better than being alone.

Kim Won took a step forward and bowed to the mourning family members. He had arrived late due to a delayed flight. He hugged Jimin tightly, but pulled back when she didn't respond. He seemed to be used to it so he turned his attention to the uncle.

Jimin stared down at the fresh open spot in the dirt as the casket was lowered into it. This was the last piece of family she had. She was officially an orphan now. Her uncle and aunt wouldn't have anything to do with her now. They hadn't in the first place because they thought her mother had married down to please her own wishes. She didn't know if she could handle it honestly. Everyone was going to look down on her from then on out. What kind of person could rise to the top when she was an orphan?

"Ji Hoo?" she said.

He looked up from the crowd he was in. "What is it, Jiminie?"

"Did you bring your motorcycle or the car?"

"The motorcycle. Why?"

"Will you take me to the twins'?"

The doctor didn't ask questions as he broke away from his group with an excuse me. He came over and took her hand to lead her away from the party that was supporting her. It wasn't appropriate to ride a motorcycle in formal funeral wear, but she wasn't feeling appropriate at that moment.

Ji Hoo handed her his leather jacket to keep her arms from getting wind whipped, then handed her the spare helmet. He got on first then made sure she was safely on behind him before he kicked the motorcycle into gear.

The sound of the motor changing as he shifted gears and the wind rushing by her face made Jimin feel like nothing had happened. At that moment she was simply a woman who ran the biggest hotel franchise in South Korea. She had nothing else to work for and no one to share it with.

Somewhere between the grave and the twins' café, she sat up and tossed her arms wide. Instinctively her knees tightened on Ji Hoo's as she felt like she was flying. It was the most amazing feeling in the world. Nothing could stop her. Well, unless Ji Hoo hit the breaks or they hit a bump or something. She didn't want that to happen but it just might.

They arrived at the café just as Junho was turning the sign around to say closed. He hurried out as Ji Hoo was helping her off the bike. He didn't ask any questions though he wanted to. He ushered them into the building and closed the door behind them. Junsu was out instantly with two iced Americanos while Junho brought a change of clothes.

By the time she was changed and back out front, everyone from the funeral that was coming had arrived. Jimin didn't greet them but that was to be expected of her. She sat behind the counter with Genevieve, Junho's friend, and watched as the others interacted. She wasn't the least bit interested in talking to anyone at the moment so she took a pile of cookies and munched happily.

Hyo Shin watched as Jimin sat away from everyone. She hadn't cried yet and that was disconcerting. Normal people would have shed a butt load of tears over their parent's death, but Jimin had none. Not even during the funeral. She had remained stoic. His heart went out to her because he knew she wasn't going to cry in front of them. He wasn't sure she cried in front of anyone.

"If you like her, tell her," he heard Myeong Su say few tables over.

He looked over and saw Young Do and the other man sitting together with Rachel. They were trying to talk quietly but in the already quiet place their voices rang out. They used to hang out all the time in high school in Myeong Su's studio. That had been the time Rachel had been head over heels in love with Kim Tan and Young Do over Cha Eun Sang. They had started plenty of fights over both people.

"I don't know why you care," Rachel said, and Hyo Shin knew the next words she was about to say. His gaze went immediately to Jimin. "She's eleven years older than you. If she hasn't found a husband by now she never will."

"Don't you have any respect?" Junho demanded. "You're here to support someone who has lost a parent and all you can do is criticize. So what she's not married? Do you think that's all there is in this world? Marriage? I'm not marred so what does that make me? Your mother should have taught you some respect."

Rachel turned that haughty attitude to Junho. "I was raised to take over my mother's company and to marry into a rich family."

"How's that working out for you? I heard your fiancé left you for another woman." Junho looked around the room. "Are there any takers for this kind young woman?"

Angry and embarrassed, Rachel got up and started for the door. Suddenly she turned around and stalked over to Hyo Shin. The man knew what was about to happen and there was no stopping it. It had already happened before and had formed a random friendship.

Rachel grabbed his face and kissed him soundly. The atmosphere in the room dropped about ten degrees. If he opened his eyes, he would see the angry glares of F3 and Young Do. He wasn't going to change that because if he opened his eyes he would see Jimin and that would crush him.

Jimin watched as the former fiancé of Kim Tan walked over to Hyo Shin and kissed him without a care in the world. Anger rushed through her veins for some reason. She tilted her head and watched the scene play out. Angry tears filled her eyes for some reason but she pushed them back. If she started crying now, she wouldn't stop. Then everyone would blame Hyo Shin for it when it wasn't his fault.

Genevieve read the atmosphere and pulled Jimin into the kitchen. She handed her a bowl and tossed in some bananas and cream. The two of them started mixing together a banana pudding that would rival anything the twins put out. It would also give them time to get any wayward emotion under wraps before it was finished.

"Would it be inappropriate to sneak out?" Jimin asked suddenly.

The other woman laughed. "It might be but if you want to do it, I won't stop you. Although it might make the scene outside even worse."

Jimin sighed and looked out the door where Woo Bin and Yi Jeong were chewing out Hyo Shin. How could she explain that she didn't think it was his fault? She had already known that he and Rachel had had an interesting friendship before Hyo Shin had joined the army. It had been one of the many things they had talked about at length. They had kissed twice before to make the people they have been in love with upset and angry. It hadn't worked and they had become unlikely friends. If she tried they might think she had been making it up.

Then there was Young Do. If she defended Hyo Shin, he would be offended. She wasn't sure who she liked but she didn't want to hurt or offend either of them. She had known Young Do all of his life and his temper was just like his father's. She had just met Hyo Shin and he was the exact opposite. He was gentle and his temperament was even. He didn't get angry easily. Both men were kind and they had good heads on their shoulders, and both would be excellent in everything they did.

Genevieve watched every thought play across Jimin's face. She hadn't known the woman long, maybe a year, but Junho had said that she wasn't very vocal. She sat back and watched and listened. Her emotions were so simple that she didn't know what to think sometimes. It made it hard in her personal life, but she was a shark at business.

But this was something new. She was dealing with something she didn't understand. None of them could figure it out for her so all they could do was watch as she figured it out on her own.

Jimin sprinkled cookies in the pudding and went back out into the lobby. She grabbed a spoon and took a sample bite. It tasted decent so she pushed it to the end of the bar.

Yi Jeong walked up to the bar and sat down. He took her spoon from her and dipped it into the pudding. His face was bright as he brought it back to his mouth and it only intensified as he tasted the dessert.

"You've never been a good cook, but this is excellent," he said. He went for another bite. "Why don't you make things like this for us?"

She smacked his hand. "Because you double dip at everything. It's one thing if it's ramen, but not dessert. You're just messing it up. Stop that."

Yi Jeong became brave. Instead of dipping the spoon, he stuck his finger in it and swiped it down her nose. Jimin's tongue peeked out between her lips seconds before she jumped the bar. She crashed into Yi Jeong with such force they toppled to the ground. Yi Jeong was laughing as Jimin's hands gripped his waist. Her feet pinned his knees down so he couldn't get up, but he didn't stop laughing.

"Say it," she coaxed as her hands inched closer to his waist. "Say it or I swear I will not stop until you pee yourself."

Woo Bi laughed. "I'd do it, Yi Jeong-ah. You remember what she did last time you made fun of her cooking."

"She can't cook many things. Fried rice and stir fry, but that's it."

Jimin unleashed her fingers. They flew all over Yi Jeong's belly and abdomen, catching him under the ribs and armpits. He started laughing incessantly as he tried to fend her off, but she went dead weight, dropping her pelvis instantly to his legs. She was much stronger than he was and her body firmer. She wasn't moving unless he tossed her off him.

Finally he got his shoulder up and he rolled to the left. Jimin went with him, except she wasn't as graceful. She slid across the finely waxed floor and landed at Ji Hoo's and Junsu's feet. Instead of getting up, she rolled over onto her belly and stayed there.

"And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how you deal with a judo master. Toss her into her friends' feet and she will lay limp on the floor," Woo Bin laughed.

To make a point, Jimin rolled over onto her back and kicked her feet into the air twice. On the second shot, she pulled her arms under her and rolled up onto her hands. Tucking her knees, she flew backwards and followed it with another stunt before landing on the table in a crouch.

"Now that's just showing off," Yi Jeong said. He was sitting in the floor pointing up at her.

This time she side flipped off the table. "It's not showing off if you know what you're doing. You, my friend, would break your neck if you did that."

"You should still compete," Ji Hoo said. "Your form is excellent and you can still twist and turn like you're a fish in water."

"Are you calling me old?"

"No, I'm just saying that you're still good."

"Did your mom enjoy watching you fight?" Junsu asked.

Jimin nodded. "She's the one who signed me up in the first place. My dad was a police officer and my mom worked at a hotel. She didn't want me coming to the hotel every day after school so she signed me up for judo. I fell in love with it and before I realized, she was driving me all over Korea to compete. Those were some of the best times. I remember one time we got stuck in Jeju due to a storm. We stayed a fancy hotel and made s'mores in our room. Dad hadn't been able to go but he video called us as soon as he got off work. It was like he had been there."

The atmosphere changed again as they talked about her mother and how much she supported her daughter. It made sense now that Jimin didn't know how to cook. She had always done extracurricular activities after school.

She got really excited as thought hit her. "Oppa, do you remember when you went with us to regionals when I was a first year? You didn't want to go but when I said that there were excellent churros, you decided to go."

Won raised his lip. "It had nothing to do with food. You were a friend who was competing at an amusement park. I wanted to go for the rides."

Tan couldn't stop the laugh to bubbled up. "You went for the rides instead of your friend's tournament? Doesn't that sound a little mean to you?"

"Not at all. Oppa didn't want anyone to know that he was coming with us so he made up some farfetched story about why he was going. I think the official story was he was going because it was a great business investment. As far as I know, he never did make it to offer them a deal."

Won threw a gum drop at her. "Would you shut up? Not everyone knows that."

"They do now," Woo Bin said. "If you haven't learned already, if you don't do what she wants, she spills a secret. It's her way of taking revenge. She's really nasty about it too."

"She even tells your wife things you did in college that was none of her business," Yi Jeong jabbed. Jimin made a face at him then returned to her place behind the counter. "We may pick on her, but she's been loyal. There's nothing bad we can really say about her."

Hyo Shin and Young Do realized the comment made her happy. Even on this day when she had buried her remaining parent, she was still able to smile. It didn't matter that her family had been lost. This was her family even if she didn't feel close to them. They were going to stick beside her no matter how bad things got for her.


	15. Chapter 15

Author's Note: I'm not quite sure where this story came from. It was supposed to be mainly about Young Do and Jimin, but suddenly Hyo Shin popped up and it went from there. He wasn't supposed to live next door or even be a major character in the story. He just kind of crept up on me. Then I just like how well the two went together, even though Young Do may end up being odd man out again. I have a vague idea of who I want her to be with, but you know it can have a plot twist at any time.

This chapter is shorter than many of the others but it holds so much of Jimin and Hyo Shin than you have ever seen. You'll see the two of them at their rawest with each other.

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Jimin padded across her living room floor to answer the doorbell. She had been sitting at home doing nothing. The people at the office had found out about her mother's funeral a couple of days before and they had banded together and had sent her home to mourn like they believed she should. Her secretary had said he would take care of the rest of the week's work. She should be resting.

She hadn't argued with them because she hadn't been in the mood. So she had stayed home and got caught up on a drama she had missed five episodes to. She had cleaned her house and had done the laundry that had piled up over the last two weeks. She had gotten so much done that she hadn't actually had anything to do that day so she had just slept on and off most of the day.

Pulling the door open, she saw Hyo Shin on the other side. He smiled as he held up chicken and beer, a classic staple of Korean night life. She waved him in even though she didn't know if she should feel awkward.

After the kiss he and Rachel had shared, she hadn't really talked to him. She hadn't felt there to be a need. He had made himself pretty clear. She wasn't sure how much he had said was true or a lie. He had claimed to like her then kissed another woman right in front of her.

It had honestly made her so angry she hadn't wanted to talk to him. And she hadn't. She had spent the last two days in her house without talking to anyone, Woo Bin and Yi Jeong included. She had spent the last two days ignoring every call and text that had come in. Emails had been hit or miss because some of them had been very important.

Hyo Shin made himself at home. He grabbed plates and glasses and set them on the coffee table in front of the television. He moved Jimin's computer from one table to another one then settled against the couch. He seemed like he belonged there even though his house was just next door.

Her stomach rumbled so she went over and sat on the opposite side of the table. She picked a few pieces out of the box and set them on her plate before getting up again and grabbing a bag of chips. For some reason she had to have chips when she ate fried chicken. She settled again at the end of the table and dug in.

Hyo Shin watched Jimin as she ate comfortably. He had known she was ignoring him and let it go. He didn't blame her. If he had seen her kissing someone else at his mother's funeral reception he would have been upset too. He didn't have the right to be mad that she was mad at him. Though he hadn't responded, he hadn't stopped her either.

He had been completely surprised once again by Rachel. She had caught him off guard, and this time he had felt horrible about it. Unlike last time, he had actually told Jimin that he liked her. When he had kissed Rachel in front of his tutor, he hadn't actually said out loud that he liked her. He had given her a pretty good idea, but he hadn't said it. Jimin knew how he felt, and she hadn't reacted to it at all.

"What have you done the last two days?" he asked. She looked up at him as she took a bite of chicken. "I haven't seen you in the lobby or the elevator, and you haven't answered my calls or texts."

"I haven't left the house since two days after my mom's funeral. The people at work told me to take some extra time off. So I dealt with mom's finances, did laundry, and I caught up on a drama. All I did today was sleep. This is my first real meal today. All I've done is eaten junk food," she said as she reached for the bag of chips.

Hyo Shin stared at her. "You've been here for two days and didn't call me."

"Did it not register with you that I didn't want to talk to you?"

She said it so plainly he didn't know whether he should take it as a rejection or anger. She hadn't wanted to talk to him, and he knew why. But he wanted her to tell him. Normally she wasn't the type to put her anger on someone. She saved it for the judo mat, but right at that moment he wanted to hear it from her.

He set the bone on the plate and wiped his hands. He slapped his hand down right on top of her wrist so hard he could hear it sting. Her eyes hardened and her shoulders stilled as she looked down at his hand. Slowly her eyes rose to meet his. She was not happy with him.

Hyo Shin tugged hard once. The way she was sitting caused Jimin to scoot across the floor nearly into his lap. Their heads nearly collided together making their faces so close together their breath mingled.

Jimin chewed on her bottom lip in agitation. No one had ever touched her in such a way. Hyo Shin was lucky she had such tight control on her reflexes because she would have broken his wrist if she didn't. Then she would have a lawsuit on her hands.

"You're always so well composed when someone does something you don't like, but you never react in any way. The only time I have seen you in a fit of anger was at the restaurant. Even then I'm not so sure it was anger," he said.

"It was anger. I was mad at Woo Bin and Yi Jeong Oppa for butting in to my relationships. I didn't talk to them until the night my mother died. I went over to Yi Jeong Oppa's studio," she answered. Every muscle in her body was still taught with restraint. He better let her go or she was going to hurt him.

"You always run to them even if you don't realize it. But don't you realize they're married with their own families and don't need you butting in."

He was starting to make her really angry. She could feel her hand shaking. "You came in my house just to tell me that? You could have called to say that."

"Run to me. Whatever it is, come to me for help. You've proven that you can considering you asked me to go with you when your mother passed away. It's the same thing. Just ask."

"What about that girl? Won't she be angry that you have someone you're even more interested in?"

"Rachel and I aren't a couple. We became close my senior year of high school. She was one of two people I told I was going into the army. Well, I didn't really tell Kim Tan, but I might as well have."

"You don't kiss someone like that if you didn't like them."

That was the root of the problem. She had never been kissed and he could tell. She was angry at him for saying her like her then kissing someone else. She didn't play around with other people's emotions and had told him such. It was the reason she hadn't picked him or Young Do. She hadn't wanted to make a mistake and hurt one of them.

"Jimin, I don't like Rachel. She's manipulative, childish, and stuck-up. I don't want someone like that."

"Instead you want someone who can't express herself unless she's angry."

He shook his head. "That's not true. Look at your hands. They're telling how angry you are but how much strength you're holding back at this time. You don't tell us you're angry because you don't want us to see that side of you. Watching you flip all over the café told me that you have enough power to control your body in any way you wish."

"But it's not enough is it? You want someone who will tell you when she's upset or sad or sick."

He nodded. "Yes, I want those things, but I understand if you can't give them. I have to learn to deal with your idiosyncrasies and you have to deal with my schooling."

Jimin stared at him. He dropped his hand and sat back against the bed. He was being honest, just like he had been the entire time. She had been honest to an extent. It had only been recently that she had held things away from him because she hadn't been certain how things should go.

She pulled her lower lip between her teeth and watched him for a few moments. If she paired Young Do and Hyo Shin together – which really wasn't fair – she came out with Hyo Shin almost being Prince Charming and Young Do being Robin Hood. Each were troubled in their own way, but one knew how to take that hurt and channel it elsewhere whereas the other lashed out.

She sat cross legged on the floor and pulled herself a little bit closer. Hyo Shin watched her, curious as to what she was doing. Everything she did had a purpose so she wasn't moving idly.

He glanced down at her hands as they moved slowly from her lap. He took a note from her book and tilted his head as he stayed quiet. She was like a deer. Any sudden movements and it would frighten her.

He closed his eyes when her fingertips grazed his face. Now he understood her hesitation. He could count on two hands how many people she touched voluntarily. If he added himself, it barely lifted the number. It was a feat just for her to do this without having to be asked.

Her palms flattened on his cheeks. It was like she was a child memorizing her parents' faces with little hands. He opened his eyes slightly and watched her. The look on her face was a mixture of intrigue and apprehension. She didn't know what to do. He knew what he wanted her to do, but he couldn't ask her because it was send her backwards ten paces. So he waited.

Jimin didn't know what else to do so she went on instinct. Slowly she moved her face closer to his. He didn't move away or closer; he stayed right where he was. That was something that made her nervous and happy at the same time.

Hyo Shin briefly felt her breath before her lips touched his. She was tentative, testing the waters before she fully committed. She gave him two gentle pecks first, then pressed her mouth to his longer each time. Finally he couldn't stop his reaction. He caught her around the waist and pulled her fully into his lap.

He heard her gasp sharply but he swallowed the sound quickly. He didn't want her pulling away yet. He had spent the last three weeks wondering how this would feel. Now that she was here, he wasn't letting her go.

The only reason he did was because she didn't know how to breathe. He had to let her go so she would live, but he made sure they didn't separate too far. He kept his forehead pressed against hers as she pulled air into her lungs. He wasn't going to ask what was going on in her head because she would just ignore him anyway.

"I hate to ruin the mood," she whispered.

"Then don't." It was an instantaneous reaction.

"I still don't know who I would choose." He tilted his head back to look at her. "I've known Young Do a long time, ever since he was born actually. I just met you."

"What does that have to do with anything? If we like each other it shouldn't matter."

"But it does, because in the end I'm going to have to let one of you go. If it's you, I'll lose a new friend. If it's him, I may lose a lifelong friend. I need to carefully weigh that. Can I truly lose a friend because of romance? I don't know what any of it entails. I'm learning as I go. What you see right now could completely change based on who I choose."

Hyo Shin did know. It was going to be rough on her and he couldn't make it any tougher. She had to make the decision for herself. This wasn't in his hands.

He pulled in for another one, holding the back of her head to make sure she didn't move. It was slow and sweet, something he didn't want to change at all. She was responding to him like he wanted, but if she didn't choose him it would be meaningless. He wanted to say as long as she was happy, but he wanted her to be happy with him. He wouldn't be able to see her happy with Young Do.


	16. Chapter 16

Author's Note: So I started on this chapter earlier this afternoon, but I got sleepy so I took a nap. I don't know what happened but I woke up with seven fur babies in bed with me. So I grabbed Pepsi and now I'm back at it. I slept really well last night so I don't know why I'm so tired. But maybe the caffeine will help me.

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"Oppa, I don't know what to do."

Yi Jeong looked up from the books he had been keeping. Jimin had appeared in his office right after lunch and had taken up residence in the rolly chair in the corner of his father's office. Hyun Sub had walked in once, exchanged pleasantries then had run away. The coward. His father had never been able to stand up to Jimin's brutal attacks when she lost her temper.

He ignored her as she spun around in the chair again. "Do you regret it?"

She had come in and had told him everything that had happened over the last couple of days. He had agreed wholeheartedly with her employees. She didn't need to be at work this soon. The building of the new hotel was going smoothly and that was their only major project right now. She could rest.

But had she? No. She had gotten herself in trouble. Yi Jeong felt slightly responsible for the mess, hence the reason she was sitting in his office.

He heard her shoes smack the ground and looked over. She had stopped spinning and was staring out the window. She did that when she was trying to figure out something.

"Don't worry about it too much. It will work out," he advised.

"What if it doesn't? What if they don't let me choose and leave?" She asked.

"Do you like them that much?"

"One yes. But I'm not sure about the other. I've dated one casually for the last month or so. The other hasn't been around due to prior engagements."

Yi Jeong knew exactly who she was talking about. After the funeral and Christmas, classes had started up again. Young Do was gone everyday now and takin classes in earnest. He rarely spoke to anyone except his mother. Lee Hyo Shin on the other hand had been cramming for exams and had asked Jimin to help him study. He hoped to get into a broadcasting school. Hyo Shin had tried to meet her like the rest of them but she had ignored them. He was making a conscious effort. Young Do wasn't.

"Want to get some coffee after I finish here?" he asked.

She turned to him with a weird look. "What does that have to do with all of this?"

"It will get your mind off of everything. Hot coffee kills the chills and brings up the heart rate. You'll be able to think better. Have you told Woo Bin?"

She made another face, one that was clearly one of disgust. "If I told him, he would just plan another date."

"He just wants you happy."

She sighed and stared down at the floor. "Sometimes I wish we could just go back to college. It was so much easier and half the stress of today."

Yi Jeong looked up at her. Jimin rarely talked about college. He didn't know why since they had all had fun at that time, but when she brought it up it was like this time and place was a little on the boring side for her. She had been so much more outgoing in college.

"Jiminie, did something happen in college that you never told us? I thought we had fun in college, but you never talk about it," he said.

"You had fun. You left for Sweden as soon as I got the job here and were gone for three years. Woo Bin went into the military right after graduation and Ji Hoo focused wholly on his medicine. He rarely had time for anyone, especially when the Gallery was built in honor of his grandfather."

He understood the bitterness she felt then. Her first year had been the year they had started planning the rest of their lives. She had dated Woo Bin at that time if you wanted to call randomness dating. Even then she had been withdrawn but had come out of her shell every so often. But now it seemed like that shell had closed tightly around her, almost like something had forced it to.

He finished all of his work and reached for his coat. He held out his hand for Jimin and she took it. He led her out of the building and down the street to the little coffee shop in the shopping center. She broke away from him as he walked up to the counter to order. He watched her choose what she wanted from the display case.

It didn't take long for them to become very comfortable. Yi Jeong pulled up his music on his phone and set it between them so they could both hear. Jimin ate her scone quietly. Yi Jeong wondered if it was because of him, but he remembered she was always like this. She was always a deep thinker. It didn't matter what it was. She was going to ponder it to death until something came to her.

Something caught his attention. He recognized an orange coat in the crowd of students running to and from class. He told Jimin to wait and hopped up. He was going to come back. He had to; he'd left his phone with Jimin with the music running.

Jimin tried to figure out where he was going, but that was a huge truck in the way. She picked up Yi Jeong's phone and changed the song to one she actually knew and liked. When she was finished with the scone, she sat back with the coffee as she stared across the street.

She wished Yi Jeong hadn't asked about college. Being a year younger than them in school meant she had to be alone after a certain time. She had been fortunate to have those few months with them before time had gotten away from them and they had gone their separate ways. Yi Jeong had gone to Sweden to prefect his art, Ji Hoo had dove headfirst into medical school. Jun Pyo had been overseas so she hadn't seen that much of him anyway, but she'd heard enough from the others about what he was like. She hadn't been too thrilled to find out about all of that.

She had sat in classes alone right after accepting the job with So International. They had met up every once in a while but everyone had been too busy. After Yi Jeong moved to Sweden it was just Jimin and Woo Bin. Then it was just Jimin. She had been alone with no one to talk to.

That had started the hazing by some of the other clubs. Because she had been inducted into the F4 family and was an outsider, they had planned to make her life miserable. Geum Jan Di had been on her side, but even she hadn't been available during the evenings. That was when the real torture began that force Jimin back into the dojo for hours after work.

One particular night stuck with her. It had been in this very café. She had been putting some fresh cake pops in the display. The pan was still hot from the oven when three girls had walked in. She had been going back in the kitchen when one had knocked the mop bucket over. Jimin had lost her footing and had landed right on the hot pan. She still had the burn scars from it.

She had never blamed them for leaving her. It had been their dreams they had wished to pursue and she hadn't been able to stop them. But she knew that if they hadn't left so early, she wouldn't possess the scars that had forced the hard shell she'd had all her life to return. She had been closest to Woo Bin the entire time and yet he had never about the burn accident. She was sure if he did, he would have gone after those girls, and she didn't want that. He had a bad enough reputation. She hadn't wanted to make it worse.

She looked up when Yi Jeong settled back into his seat. Only this time he wasn't alone. Young Do stood at the end of the table looking down at her. Without a word, she slid across the seat so he could sit down.

"Jiminie? Are you okay? I was only gone for a few minutes," Yi Jeong said.

She sniffled and tucked her hands in her pocket. "I'm fine. I'm just cold. There's a draft in the window."

"Do you need to change seats?"

She shook her head. "I'm fine."

The men sat and talked while Jimin listened to music. She didn't want to participate in the conversation because there really wasn't a reason. Everything Yi Jeong was telling Young Do she already knew. She had been the one to tell her partners what was going on with the new hotel and how much longer it would be until it could be furnished.

Yi Jeong glanced over at Jimin as he kept his attention on Young Do. Something had happened in the last ten minutes he was away. She had completely retreated somewhere he couldn't go. He didn't know what was on her mind.

"What are you doing tonight?" he asked Young Do.

"I have a test tomorrow. I need to study since I don't understand it very well," he replied.

"If you'd go to class like you're supposed to, you wouldn't miss the notes and wouldn't be behind," Jimin scolded without even looking.

"I do go to class, but history of business is completely boring. I don't care where business started. I just want to do it."

"Remember what I said in the board and stock holders meeting my first day? Business started as a barter and trade system. People used it to get what they needed but also to help their fellow man. If I had the coffee beans you needed, but you had the flour I needed to make bread, we would trade those items. But now, business has become full of marriages, and money and children. It's really disgusting if you ask me."

Yi Jeong rested his head in his hand as Jimin's intelligent side came out. She far surpassed him and Woo Bin in that department. She could spout whatever nonsense at the drop of a hat when provided the opening to do so.

"Why don't you help him study?" he asked.

He was greeted with two different responses. Young Do looked at him like he had lost his mind. After the whole dinner fiasco they hadn't said much to each other. The younger man had given his friends of a friend space. Jimin on the other hand gave him a side glare. She knew what he was trying to do, and she knew he was good at it. Whereas Woo Bin would get punched, she wouldn't touch him because she feared hurting his hands. In the end she would do what he suggested.

He watched as she pushed Young Do from the booth and slid out. She stood at the end of the table and popped Yi Jeong in the shoulder. He held up his hands in defeat. She looked at Young Do then started for the door. He tried not to show the happy grin that spread from ear to ear but it was impossible. Woo Bin was going to be so angry he didn't see it.

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Young Do didn't know why he even agreed to this, but he sat across from Jimin in the library nonetheless. Jimin was going over his notes and marking the things that were wrong. Now he understood how she had become first in her class during both college and high school. She was insane.

But she was focused. She had pulled her hair back and was intensely writing things that should have been in his notes from basic memory. It was almost fill in the blank for her. He had the basic points, but she expounded upon them. She already had three pages of notes versus his one.

"Why don't you tutor me?" he asked.

"Because I don't have the time and you don't have the patience," she answered.

"How do you know?"

"These." She held up his notes for him to see. "You don't take notes because you don't care. You don't read the book because you think it's too trivial. Because of these things, you're setting yourself up to fail."

"Then tutor me."

She huffed at him. "I don't have the time. The deal was you would do all the work yourself and if your father wasn't back by the time you graduated, I would decide whether or not you were worthy enough to be heir of the company. So far you're not showing me anything other than laziness. Why would I condone that?"

She was fighting with the company and knowledge. She knew he could do better. She knew he had been at the top of his class in elementary school. She had to know that he had been the top of his class before his mother left. She knew how smart he was smart. He just had to show her.

She flipped the book around and he could see an entire history lesson written out in twelve pages. Everything his professor had said was right here. All he had to do was study it.

Jimin watched Young Do as he leaned over his book and started reading what she had just written. He wasn't going to fight her because he knew he would never win. She held his fate in her hands. She hated doing it, but it wasn't like it was a cookie he could eat in two seconds. He wanted to run a company but he didn't want to study for it.

She left him at the table and went downstairs to get some coffee. He wasn't going to pay attention without something to drink. He had always been that way. She bought two coffees, one Americano and one caramel macchiato. She paid and was on her way back upstairs when someone bumped into her.

"Shin Jimin?" Her eyes jumped up at the sound of the voice. She came face to face with a familiar woman. "It is you. Do you remember me? I'm Lee Hye Jin. We went to college together."

Jimin knew who she was. She had been part of the group who had hated her for hanging out with F4. She had been the ringleader who had kicked the mop bucket that caused her to fall.

"I hear you're someone famous right now," she kept on. She still wasn't able to read the mood of someone. "Is it true you took over Zeus Hotel Company? Maybe it will have a longer shelf life than everyone believed."

Her temper fired up. "What are you doing now, Hye Jin? Last I heard your father's company buckled under Shinhwa Group. Too bad our parents don't know how to keep their noses clean. Our world would be so much better if that were possible."

Hye Jin glared at her. "Why you…"

"Careful. My company is partners with Song Construction, So International and Jeguk Group. I'm pretty sure if I asked Goo Jun Pyo would join the ranks."

"Who did you have to sleep with to make that happen?"

Jimin nearly popped the plastic cups in her hands. She had never slept with anyone. Why did everyone assume that? Why couldn't she just make her own way without having someone hand it to her?

Her temper short circuited, but someone slid in front of her before she could do anything. The look on Hye Jin's face was priceless. Yoon Ji Hoo stood in front of them and stared down Hye Jin. He had been the one Hye Jin had liked the most out of F4. And apparently she still did by the way her face caved into a simpering puppy look.

"Are you okay, Jiminie?" he asked over his shoulder. He was using the familiar with her to prove a point.

"I'm fine, Oppa," she answered through gritted teeth.

Convinced, Ji Hoo turned to Hye Jin. "You're the one who left burn marks on Jimin's arms aren't you?"

Both Jimin and Hye Jin stared at him as he mentioned it. Hye Jin obviously remembered because she had been the one to kick the bucket. Jimin didn't know he knew. How had he known?

"You were on clinicals," she muttered. It made sense that he knew. It had only taken Ji Hoo two years to get through pre-med and his early classes of medical school. By her junior year, he was already in his clinical studies for being a doctor. The accident had happened in her junior year. Since he had been at the hospital, he would have heard that she had come in for treatment.

"Do you know how long she was out from training because of that? You ruined her Olympic dreams because you were jealous. So I took measures against you. I'm the reason Jun Pyo bought out your father's company when it went under."

It wasn't exactly a lie, but it wasn't exactly the truth. The reason she hadn't gone on to the Olympics was because of schooling. If she had gone to train all day every day, she would have had to start school all over. Judo had just been a part of her daily routine. She had never really had any dreams of being an Olympian. She was happy with eighteen gold and twenty silver she had brought home.

"Get out of here if you don't want a lawsuit. The statute of limitations isn't up yet. She can still press charges because of scarring. And I have all the files."

Jimin stared up at him as Hye Jin stormed away. She knew what had happened, and she was going to beat Yi Jeong once she got her hands on him.

Ji Hoo turned around. "Are you sure you're all right?"

"I'm positive. I was just upstairs with Young Do. I didn't know she was here until I turned around," she answered as she headed for the stairs.

"Do you need me to go with you?"

She shook her head. "No. I'll be fine. Go back to your research. And tell Yi Jeong that his plan worked."

She heard him laugh as she went up the stairs. So it had been Yi Jeong's plan. The man was way too predictable sometimes. She just had to guess what his next move would be and she could easily figure him out.

Young Do looked up when she set the cup down. "I thought you got lost."

"No, I ran into someone I went to college with."

"I can't find this one." He held up the notebook for her to see.

"Did you check the stacks?"

He shook his head and she stood up again. He followed her into the massive stacks of books as she went in search of a specific one. She was so it made him feel bad that he wasn't that great of a student at the moment.

She found the book she wanted only it was on the very top shelf. She wasn't short, but she was short enough that it was just out of reach. Young Do stepped up behind her and reached for the book. His front was pressed to her back as he handed the book to her.

When she turned around, he was lost. She looked up at him briefly and started past him. He grabbed her arm and forced her to stay. She could have broken past him but she didn't. He would have let her if she so desired it.

When she didn't move, he took a shot. He pulled her closer to him and lowered his head. She backed up until her back hit the shelf.

She let him do it. She let him kiss her. But it wasn't the same. He was gentle and sincere, but it wasn't the same. There was no reaction. She didn't have any emotions that bubbled up at his touch. Had she had a different reaction to Hyo Shin? She really couldn't remember, but she knew there were no sparks between her and Young Do.

He seemed to realize it because he pulled back slightly then stepped back all together. "I thought it would be different. I thought there would be…"

"Fireworks?" she supplied. He nodded. "Maybe we're just meant to be friends."

"Or siblings." He looked at her. "Noona?"

She gave him a smile that completely filled her face. "Little brother."

Young Do smiled and tossed his arm around her shoulders, and they went back to their table.


	17. Chapter 17

Author's Note: This is the second to last chapter. I thought it would last longer, but the idea finally came to me and it's time to end it. As of right now I don't have another story in the works. I might at a later date when I find another drama to watch, so ideas for dramas are welcome.

(*(*(*(*(*(*(**(*

Hyo Shin sighed as he walked off campus. He hadn't seen Jimin in two months. The construction with the new hotel had jumped ahead of schedule and she had flown to China with Woo Bin to see everything finalized. He had the task of taking care of the stray cat she had found two days before moving so he was in and out of her house every day but he didn't get to see her.

He had been accepted into the broadcasting program at the same college his younger classmates attended, except this time he was the younger classmate. It didn't bother him because he was doing something he loved. He had had the highest number of recordings and broadcasts for the incoming freshmen that he was made an advisor to most of them and had been given an immediate position on the radio staff. Ironically he was once again working with Lee Bo Na.

The most spectacular thing was his parents had finally accepted him. He hadn't gone home right after being discharged so he hadn't talked to them in a few months. He hadn't wanted to because he hadn't wanted them to mock him and degrade him for choosing something that they didn't want for him.

They had showed up at his front door one day with gifts. He had been indecisive on whether or not to let them in, but his mother had started crying. He had finally let them in and they had sat around his kitchen table and talked. They had hashed out what had made him so unhappy in high school and why he had decided to go against their wishes. He hadn't wanted to become a lawyer. He had wanted to do whatever he had wanted, but they had pushed him too hard. So he had pushed back. In the end they had both decided that they had been in the wrong and had reconciled.

Well, they had sort of reconciled. They were on better terms now about college and his future, but now they wanted him to find a girlfriend and get married. He had smiled and had told them he was working on it. He hadn't given them any confirmations when they had asked if he was dating anyone. There had been no way he could have told them because he hadn't been sure himself.

He stopped at the crosswalk and pulled his phone out as he was waiting for the light to turn green. Jimin usually texted him about this time, but today there was no text. She could be so very busy that she couldn't or she was asleep. She had done that before. She had fallen asleep and had forgotten to text him. He hadn't been too concerned because she had explained the next day why she hadn't text him.

He didn't know what kind of relationship they had. Jimin hadn't said anything to him since the night they had kissed. She had barely spoken to him since then. Business had kept them separated and they had agreed not to discuss it until she knew what she wanted. It was hard on him but he had honored their agreement.

The light turned green and he walked across the street with at least twenty other people. There was no message on his phone and he didn't know why. Jimin had said she would talk to him today, but there wasn't anything suggesting she was going to call him.

What if she had found someone in China? Or what if she was having an affair with Woo Bin? They had been a couple ten years ago. What would stop them from doing it again? That last thought was dashed because Woo Bin was completely head over heels for his wife and kids, but the first one wasn't. Anyone who ever met Jimin was either intrigued by her or annoyed because everyone else was intrigued. She was hard to forget, especially since she moved like a stalking cat.

He walked into his building and waited on the elevator. The time difference between Beijing and Seoul was only an hour. Why hadn't she texted him or called? It was going to drive him insane until he heard from her.

He rode the elevator to his floor and passed by a well-known girls' group. They exchange pleasantries before they passed by on their way. He heard them noisily get on the elevator, their laughter ringing out as the doors shut.

He was punching in his pass code when his phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and looked at the screen. He swiped his finger across it excitedly and nearly dropped it.

"Noona!" he said just as the door opened.

"Turn around." Confused, he put his foot in the door and turned back towards the elevators. When he didn't see anything he looked at his door. "The other way, moron."

He did so and saw Jimin standing in her doorway with Woo Bin out in the hallway. He hadn't noticed him standing in the hallway despite his large size. She dropped her phone to her side then looked up at Woo Bin.

"Thanks for the help, Oppa, even though I could have done it myself," she said.

Woo Bin waved his hand in front of his face. "Don't worry about it. I'm the one who dragged you to China. It was the least I can do. I'm just sorry we missed Christmas and the Korean New Year. My kids always enjoy those days."

"They enjoy them because you give them presents." Woo Bin smiled cheekily the waved goodbye.

Jimin looked at Hyo Shin as he stared at her. He was either soaking in her presence or completely baffled that she was even there. Either way it was annoying her. She stepped inside and grabbed her coat and shoes. Stuffing her feet into boots, she slid her coat on at the same time.

"Let's go," she said.

Hyo Shin didn't have a choice but to follow. They stood in the elevator in somewhat awkward silence. Jimin wasn't giving him any cues. She stood in front of him and watched the numbers tick down as they descended.

When the doors opened, she walked through the main doors and took an immediate left. Usually they went right so he had no idea where she was going. He followed even though he was going to be surprised when they arrived.

They walked a few blocks until she stepped into a café. She ordered immediately. He waited for her as she brought over their drinks then took a seat near the window.

Neither one said a word as they drank their coffee in peace. Something about this meant something, but he wasn't sure what it was. They had had these moments before so it didn't really matter to him, but there was something deeper about this. Even without words, he could tell something was different.

After half an hour, she stood and headed out the door. He didn't know anything else other to follow her. She waited on him at the sidewalk before hailing a taxi. She slid in and he followed her. He didn't hear what she said when she gave the driver directions and that dumbfounded him.

He watched the scenery change rapidly as the care moved. Once again they didn't talk as they went to a location only Jimin knew. She wasn't going to tell him until it was absolutely necessary.

The driver stopped and he looked up at Namsan Tower. Jimin stared at him on the sidewalk. Her expression was unreadable and her eyes covered by some sort of emotion. He thought he had figured out everything about her but she continued to surprise him.

She led him to the cable car where she paid for the tickets and stood in the back corner with her back to the glass. He watched her expression as they ascended to the tower. She watched him just as well. It was a watching game and whoever looked away was going to lose.

The cable car stopped and they filed off. Once again Jimin took the lead. There weren't many places they could go on the tower so he just had to guess what she was planning. Food was always a given whenever they went out, coffee too, but he knew she wasn't hungry yet because she hadn't said anything about it. In face she hadn't said two words to him since she said let's go. He didn't know what she was planning.

They stepped out on the observation deck and went to the far end. They stared out at the city as it fell under the power of dusk. The last time they had been here had been nearly three months ago on their first date. It also happened to be the same night Jimin's mother had taken a turn for the worse and had passed away. Hyo Shin thought she wouldn't want to return her due to the painful memories that followed their evening.

"I never planned on coming back here," she said suddenly. "Mom died the day after we did, so it is pretty painful to think about. But the more I do think about it, the more I realize there are more happy memories than sad. Being terrified riding the cable car, standing up here and looking down on the city where I was born, and eating vendor foods. All those are happy memories. Those are memories I would love to share with my family."

She turned towards the river. "But I can't unless I call Young Do."

The name made him cringe. "If you're here to tell me that you've chosen him, I'm going to head on home."

"Let me finish. You always get ahead of yourself. Maybe you should wait a moment." Firmly reprimanded he stuffed his hands in his pockets. "I kissed Young Do."

The honesty slammed him hard in the chest. He had expected her to say she had talked to him or had let him down easy, not that she had kissed him. Pain welled up inside him and had to fight back the tears that threatened to fall. She was telling him she had chosen Young Do. He had to steal himself for the response.

"It was after one of the girls I went to college with found me and basically told me I had slept with Woo Bin and Yi Jeong to get those internships in college. If it hadn't been for Ji Hoo Oppa, I would have punched her in the library."

"Why would she say that?" he asked.

"She like Ji Hoo Oppa and thought I was only around them because I wanted fame and fortune. It never crossed her mind that I was their friend. But after they left to go on their different journeys, I was left alone. She came to my job during junior year and kicked over a bucket of soapy water. I slipped and fell on a hot pan."

She rolled up her sleeves and showed him the two scars running along her forearms. He had only ever seen her in long sleeves and it had never crossed his mind that something had happened to force her to wear them. Looking at the angry white scars on her arms made him angry.

"Ji Hoo Oppa showed up and put her in her place. He had known all along that she had been the one to hurt me on accidental purpose. He basically admitted to having Jun Pyo Oppa buying out her family's company in revenge."

"Why did you kiss Young Do?" he asked.

"He started it. You were the one who said he liked me over and over again. And I told you I couldn't make an educated decision unless I knew all the factors."

"So you kissed him?"

She looked over her shoulder at him. "Jealousy is not a good color for you. Pick another one."

"How am I supposed to look when you tell me these things?"

"You're supposed to listen to everything before you assume. You know what they say about that."

"I don't want to listen when you explain things that are painful to hear."

He started to turn around but she gripped his wrist hard. He found himself flying backwards towards the window where his back slammed against it. He couldn't stop her from slinging him around even if he tried. She was very strong and knew how to pull her strength when need be.

She stared at him, anger finally igniting those eyes that held so much. Her mouth was pressed into a straight line. She wasn't going to back down from him.

"Shut up long enough to let me finish this, or I will leave you right here. Got it?" She waited for him to nod. "Good. Yes, I kissed Young Do but there was nothing there. Even he said there wasn't anything between us other than the older sister/younger brother dynamic. He is officially out of the picture because he is now my younger brother."

It took a minute for it to sink in. Hyo Shin replayed everything in his head, ticking it off slowly. She watched it him like a ton of bricks. She took that moment to step back and look out over the scenery again.

Hyo Shin finally understood what she had been trying to tell him. She had been honest because she didn't want him finding out later and being angry. She hadn't been turning him down. She had been trying to tell him that she had turned Young Do down. He hadn't let her finish. He didn't know if she was kicking both to the curb or accepting him.

He leaned against the window and waited until she cooled off a bit. His excitement was starting to pick up. If she dumped him too, he was going to walk away and forget all about her.

"Woo Bin Oppa and I went to China for two months, and during those two months, all I kept thinking about was my life here in Korea. I don't have any parents and I work way too much. I'm constantly moving about as I try to figure out how I'm going to stay ahead of my employees. I have so much going on that I don't have time to babysit.

"But someone dropped out of nowhere and shook everything up. Emotions I haven't used in forever came surging up. Now I don't know what to do with them. But I know I don't want them to go away because if they do I'm sure I will never get them back."

Hyo Shin looked at her. "What are you trying to say?"

She turned to face him then. "I'm saying if you walk away, I will never forgive you, and I'm pretty sure my Oppas will kill you."

It was close to a confession he was going to get. He stepped towards her and pulled her closer by the waist. She didn't fight him or act embarrassed. It was like she already knew.

"If you change your mind on this, I'm going to be really angry," he said.

"I've made up my mind. I don't change it easily once I have made it up." She tilted her head at him. "Quit talking, Hyo Shin, and kiss me."

Not wanting to keep her waiting, he lowered his head the two inches and claimed her mouth. It was his to do so, and he was going to make the best of it every chance he got.


	18. Chapter 18

Author's Note: I re-watched EXO Next Door. Now I'm watching Dream Knight with GOT7. I'm already dying because it's so funny. Jackson is so sassy! But I hated how they ended it! I mean come on! They have to come back to her! Oh, you make me so mad! And let's be honest. If I woke up with 4/7 of GOT7, I wouldn't scream. I would be like hi! Can we sleep a little longer? That girl was just dumb.

Okay enough ranting. This is the final chapter. It took an unexpected turn. I had fully intended to put Young Do as the main dude, and he kind of was. But I still don't know where Hyo Shin came from. He just popped up and wouldn't go away. So here we are at the end and he's the main person.

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A year and a half later

Hyo Shin laughed as Jimin shoved him out of her front door. After a year and a half of silence, they had finally been exposed to his parents. They had asked to meet with the woman he seemed to be serious about.

Of course after telling Jimin, she had refused. She knew what it meant to meet his parents. If they didn't approve, there was no way they would have a blessed life. She was Protestant but some things would be hard to get around. A parent's blessing was one of them.

Hyo Shin had been very gentle around his explosive girlfriend. She rarely lost her temper with him but when she did it was a full blown hurricane. They bickered over everything and nothing, and it seemed like they wouldn't last. But it had been a year and a half. He was pretty sure they were set for life.

Normally he would be extremely upset when another guy touched his girlfriend, but the guys hanging around Jimin were more than friends. They were the family she had never had, and he wasn't about to upset that balance. Upsetting what had already been in place was the equivalent as setting off a volcano. Many people got hurt in the eruption.

"You could give me my shirt you know," he said. It smacked him right in the face. "Well, I didn't mean like that."

"Next time you come home from class or work, you shower at your own house," she said seconds before she shut the door in his face. He heard the double beep and knew she had locked him out. Even though he knew her pass code, she wouldn't let him in.

Hyo Shin stared at the door and laughed as he pulled his shirt on. He probably should have showered first before telling her about his parents. Maybe then he would have gotten out with a towel. That would have been less embarrassing.

He went into his house and headed straight for the shower. Jimin was always considerate to him but when he pushed her past her comfort zone, he always got the short end of the stick. Ever since they had been together, it had been that way. He was used to her emotional outbursts or the days when she was emotionless to everyone.

In the last year, many things had happened. Choi Dong Uk's sentence had been handed down. He had gotten three years in prison and five years probation. Since he had already served two years so they had just given him one more year. In that time he was to reflect on what he had done and write an official apology. He also wasn't allowed to work as CEO for a year and a day after being released. Young Do would still be in college so Jimin would continue as CEO.

The Zeus Hotel in Beijing had been completed and another was slated to start construction in Hong Kong. They were going to use the same building team and materials they had used in the Beijing charter. Woo Bin was head of that project because his family was vacationing in Hong Kong over the summer. Since he was going to be there, he might as well head it.

Kim Won had a child on the way with his wife. Though they weren't in love, they respected each other enough to beget an heir for Jeguk. Won's father was ecstatic and couldn't wait to see his new grandson or granddaughter. Naturally he hoped it was a boy so he could continue with the family name, but he would be happy with anything.

Kim Tan had finally proposed to Cha Eun Sang and their wedding was scheduled for the following April. Everyone wasn't really surprised. Relieved was more appropriate a term. Everyone was invited who had been part of their lives during their roughest times.

Young Do had risen to the top of his class. He came over every now and then for tutoring. Jimin didn't go easy on him. Because she had done so well in college, she still had her notes. Shinhwa University was a better university and she had worked so hard to succeed. She had a better education than many of them would ever gain. Young Do always asked for help right before a big test, and he always aced it with the notes Jimin gave him. He had gotten to the point where he called her Noona and she called him little brother regularly.

Everyone else had gone on to fulfill their lives. Yoon Chan Young was following in his father's footsteps with the hopes of getting into Jeguk after college. Lee Bo Na was starting to intern at her father's company. Rachel Lee was working on her own brand and Jo Myeong Su was a budding photographer who had already booked the newest art show of So Yi Jeong and Eri Song. They were all going their separate ways but they all stayed in contact.

Hyo Shin was doing well in his broadcasting classes. He already had the best radio program on air and was looking to have another award at the school's yearly competition. Word had gotten around that he was dating the CEO of Zeus Hotel, and he had quickly become a hot commodity. He got invited to all the fancy parties and plenty of rich students asked him to get a donation from Jimin, but he had declined since he knew her policy. She wouldn't do anything unless it was for something worthwhile and college antics weren't part of that. So he always turned them down, but they were getting so persistent.

One of the girls had latched on to him one evening after studying in the library. Jimin had been waiting by the car when he had stumbled out with the girl on his arm. He had thought his relationship had been over right there, but Jimin had simply gotten in the car and waited for him. That ride home had been horrible. She hadn't said anything to him. When they had gotten home (he said that loosely because they lived next door to each other), she had showed her anger at only him by shoving him against the hallway closet and kissing him. He still remembered the anger behind the kiss and her words that followed.

"Don't ever let another girl hang all over you," she had said. Then she had gone about her business. That had been the moment he knew she loved him more than she ever let on.

Stepping out of his closet with fresh clothes and wet hair, he looked at the bedroom door when he heard the doorbell rang. All of his friends knew the pass code to his house. They would have just come in and yelled at him. This was someone he hadn't given permission to enter whenever they wished.

He flipped on the camera and groaned. His parents had found out where he lived. He couldn't leave them outside because he would be deemed a horrible son. So he unlocked the door and opened it wide.

"Mom, Dad, how did you find me?" he asked.

His mother actually had the wherewithal to look concerned. "You wouldn't tell us where you lived so we had to go through your school. Once your father explained who he was and why he was looking for you, they all too happily gave it to him."

Of course. No one would turn down Attorney General Lee Chan Hyuk. He could easily have their jobs. Hyo Shin stepped back and held the door open. They passed by him and slipped off their shoes. Hyo Shin only had two pairs of slippers because normally he just walked around the house barefooted so he gave them to his parents.

"Why are you here?" he asked. He didn't want to sound irritated, but only two people got away with coming over unannounced. His parents obviously weren't them.

"We wanted to meet your girlfriend. Someone told us you live with her," his father said.

So there was a snitch in the ranks. They were probably having him followed. Since he hadn't given Jimin's name to them, they wouldn't know to look for her. But now that they knew where he lived, it wouldn't take long for them to realize she lived right next door. He might as well take the surprise from it.

"She doesn't live here," he said as he leaned against his counter. He hooked his thumb of his shoulder. "She lives next door."

"Then go get her."

Hyo Shin made a face. This wasn't going to go over well. Jimin had already made the comment that she didn't want to meet his parents, but it couldn't be helped.

Sighing he walked out the door and went the apartment next to his. He punched in Jimin's pass code and walked right in her house. He had to surprise her because she wouldn't answer the door if she saw him through the camera. He was lucky she had unlocked the keypad.

She was sitting at the bar when he walked in. She looked up from her tablet and all but glared at him. Yep, she was still mad. He could handle the anger, but he had a dilemma at the moment. He grabbed her hand and dragged her from her apartment. She broke contact once but he grabbed her by the back of the shirt. Since he was taller than her, she couldn't go very far.

"Let me go, Hyo Shin," she ordered.

He licked his lips as he turned her around until she faced him. "My parents are here and they won't leave until they meet you. Now my father will be a shoo-in once he realizes who you are, but my mother will be the one you have to contend with. Be honest and keep your temper in check." He got her cold eyes in return, so he leaned forward and kissed her deeply. "Nothing they say will change us."

He opened the door and pulled her inside behind him. He held fast to her hand as he led her inside. He made sure she sat down at the table first before sitting beside her. Under the table he gripped her hand again.

"Mom, Dad, this is Shin Jimin," he said.

It didn't take his father very long to recognize the name. "The Shin Jimin? The woman who took home bronze at the National Judo Championship when she was seventeen?"

Jimin, to her credit, bowed respectfully and lifted her gaze to theirs. "Yes. I am Shin Jimin."

"I have always wanted to ask you why you quit at the peak of performance?"

"Dad," Hyo Shin scolded with an embarrassed look.

"I found that I truly enjoyed business, and it gave me more time with my parents after I moved away to attend Shinhwa University. My dad got really sick a few years before he died, and I helped take care of him as I went to school and worked at an internship. I used judo as a stress reliever. It still is a stress reliever but recently I've been getting back into competitions for the fun of it. Hyo Shin goes with me when he can."

"What do you do now?" his mother asked.

"Wouldn't it be respectful to tell her your names?" Hyo Shin scolded.

Jimin shook her head. "I already know. Lee Chan Hyuk, attorney general to the president of South Korea. I met you one time when I attended a state function with Yoon Ji Hoo. To his credit, Ji Hoo Oppa didn't tell you who I was because he didn't want to make it difficult on me." She turned to his mother. "And you are Kang Rae Mi. You raised an excellent son, even if you were a little strict on him."

"You will be strict on your son as well," Rae Mi said.

"Don't be so certain. Once I finish my tenure, I plan to settle down with something quiet and simple. I won't live the life of a millionaire. Hyo Shin may if he wishes, but it won't be me."

Hyo Shin listened to the gentle yet firm way Jimin defended herself to his mother. All his life she had wanted him to do things he didn't want to do. She had tried to force him into law school and to college where he would succeed, but he'd blown all of that when he had refused to go to his college entrance interview and then had enlisted in the army. Now this woman had fallen into his life and he had made the most amazing decisions since meeting her.

"What do you do that's stressful?" his mother persisted.

"I'm CEO of Zeus Hotel Company in place of Choi Dong Uk. I have been in charge since the day of his indictment. Thanks to you, I was thrust into a world that I never wished to see."

"Noona," he muttered. This was something he had never heard before. He had never known that she didn't like working with the company. He knew she hated the people under her, but never that she hated the company.

She tightened her hand in his. "If you have any issues with me dating your son, say so now because I don't deal well with liars. I fired a third of the board because they were lying and money laundering, and another third quit because I was always finding their dirty secrets. I don't play about things like this."

He dropped her hand and pulled her halfway to him. He forced her to look at him so she would see his concern. He didn't care that at that moment his parents were sitting across from them witnessing the scene. Jimin's volcano was on the rise and he had to calm her down before she ticked off his parents.

"What did I tell you?" He wasn't wishy-washy about it. He kept his tone even but his eye hard. "Rein in your temper."

He had never kissed her in front of people so he settled for a kiss on the forehead. She looked up at him when he pulled away.

Tossing his arm around her chair, he looked at his parents dead on. "Quit giving her the third degree. She's successful and has a good education. It's everything you wanted for me. She's nine and half years older than me, but she treats me as if we're equals. We make decisions together. If you can't support this, then you're not welcome around us."

His dad looked at his mom. There was a silent conversation going on between the couple of twenty-seven years. He was asking them for their blessing in dating a woman who was almost thirty-three.

""If we don't accept this, does that mean we won't be invited to your wedding?" his father asked.

Hyo Shin nodded. "Yes, you will not be involved in our lives at any point in time. You would be the only set of grandparents our children would have but you would never see them." It was a threat they would heed.

Rae Mi looked at Jimin. "You promise to take care of him, right?"

Jimin nodded. "Yes, but I think he's done a good job of that up until this point. He's intelligent and witty. Sometimes I wonder why he's here with me instead of with someone else."

Convinced, his parents nodded. "We give you our blessing," Chan Hyuk said.

They talked for a few minutes more before his parents decided they needed to get going. Hyo Shin stood and saw them out the door. He couldn't close his door to his world without promising them they would meet up for dinner sometime soon.

He hadn't so much as turned around before he was being tossed onto his couch. Jimin jumped him and landed on his hips just a little south of his diaphragm. She glared down at him. He smiled up as he wrapped his arms around her hips and sat up in one motion. He looked up at her as her hands fisted in his shirt.

"I told you I didn't want to see them. And then what was all about marriage and kids?" she demanded.

He took on a cheeky grin. "Oh? Haven't I told you? I plan to marry only you. Naturally we'll have children."

"Since when did I agree to that? And where do you get off on kissing me in front of your parents?"

"First of all, I was going to ask you to marry me in the next month or so. Second, I can kiss you wherever and whenever I like. You did promise that you wouldn't cheat on me." He frowned, his face taking on a hopefully cute expression. "You're not cheating on me are you?"

When she frowned, three lines appeared right between her eyes. "I'm going home."

She tried to get up but Hyo Shin held fast to her waist to keep her in place. She didn't bother to test his strength because she knew he would grapple to keep her right there. When he was certain she wasn't going anywhere, he reached up and pushed her multicolored hair out of her face.

"Jiminie, don't ever pull away from me. Stay like this, within arms' reach of me for the rest of your life. I love being able to reach out and touch you when I please. Once you're done with your tenure, come work with me at a radio studio. It will be so much easier than what you're doing now."

He didn't get a yes or a no, but that was answer enough. He pulled her face down and kissed her, grateful that this time they had together would be for the rest of their lives.

The end


End file.
